


Count The Headlights

by sparkagrace



Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: AU, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-14
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2018-04-04 10:37:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 77,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4134351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparkagrace/pseuds/sparkagrace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU. Erin is a senior in college. After someone threatens Erin during a case, Voight assigns Jay to secretly go undercover as a college student and befriend his daughter as a means to protect her. Just don't let Erin find out.</p><p>Jay doesn't think it'll be a problem - until the lines start to blur.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU where Erin is actually Voight's daughter and a college senior. Everybody else are detectives. Jay is around 25 and Erin is 22.

He wasn’t sure how exactly he ended up in this situation. He guessed it was partly wanting to impress his new boss and partly being the new guy in the office.

 

It was probably the latter.

 

Jay scratched the back of his head, adjusted his grip on the backpack slung over his right shoulder and took a deep breath.

 

“Here goes nothing,” he mumbled to himself and headed towards the entrance to campus library.

 

Jay followed the signs towards the library and walked through the doors. It was huge and he had no idea where to start looking. He decided to head left but encountered a set of turnstiles.

 

“You need to swipe your card.” The librarian at the reception desk told him in a tone that reminded him of Sargent Platt. Jay fished out his student ID from his jacket pocket and swiped; the turnstile light turned green and he pushed through the gate.

 

He noticed a sign that pointed to the Study Center and figured that it would be a good place to start.

 

The Study Center was located on the first floor of the library and, on a Tuesday morning, it was pretty empty. Jay could easily identify the blonde girl he’d seen a photo of in his case assignment folder. She was talking to a younger guy near one of the windows as they both hunched over a textbook.

 

He picked a table close enough that would allow him to listen in on their conversation but far enough not to draw suspicion and took out a textbook and pen.

 

“Just read this case study and tell me what you think the prosecution’s argument might have been.” Her voice was soft and husky. It was different to what he imagined but Jay realized that it made perfect sense.

 

After all – she was Voight’s daughter. There was no mistaking that.

 

Jay forced himself to focus on the book in front of him – Greek Architecture and Sculpture – and pretended to be highlighting notes inside.

 

It was 10:47am which meant that the study session going on across from him would be coming to an end soon. That’s when he needed to make the move.

 

It seemed strange that his first undercover assignment would be to be tailing the boss’s daughter, but Jay had been the only detective Erin hadn’t seen before and Voight had been pretty insistent that this was a special case.

 

* * *

They had spent the last three long months working on a complicated gang case in Intelligence. It had quickly consumed the entire unit and they had poured a lot of resources into the investigation. The team had successfully managed to infiltrate and take down a small gang that had previously dealt with the main target. It was an important step in getting ahead of the case.

 

Unfortunately, the leader of that small gang had threatened Voight’s daughter and this was why Jay was currently sitting in a university library pretending to be a student.

 

As Jay understood it, Erin Voight wasn’t a huge fan of police protection. Voight had attempted to assign a patrol car to park outside her apartment last week but she believed that a protection detail was a huge inconvenience and waste of police resources. Erin had sent them back to the precinct with that very message for her father.

 

Then Voight assigned Atwater to follow her home from a study session the next day. She recognized Kevin immediately and told her dad, in no uncertain terms, that she wasn’t interested in being followed.

 

Olinsky tried to reassure Voight that Erin was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, but Voight didn’t want to take the perp’s threats lightly. This case had Voight rattled and stressed. So much time and effort had been invested in the case and he didn’t need to be worrying about Erin’s safety when the unit was so close to making huge progress.

 

That’s when Olinsky came up with the new plan.

 

What if they sent someone undercover to protect Erin _without_ telling her? Voight pointed out that they had tried that with Atwater trailing her but she had figured it out immediately.

 

“Obviously she did,” Olinsky had told Voight, “because she knows Kevin.”

 

“Also he’s seven feet tall.” Ruzek added helpfully.

 

“So what do you suggest?” Voight demanded.

 

“Get someone in Erin’s life that she wouldn’t suspect. She’s a cop’s daughter; of course she’s going to be on the lookout for people following her. If you really want her protected, you need someone on the inside.”

 

“I don’t know many of Erin’s friends that I would particularly trust.” Voight shook his head.

 

“So get one of us.” Ruzek said. Olinsky looked around the unit.

 

“Erin’s met most of us,” he pointed out. He looked at Ruzek and then shook his head. “No, she met you last summer at the barbeque.”

 

“There’s Jay.” Ruzek said. “He’s only been here three months. Erin hasn’t met him yet, right?”

 

Voight considered it for a moment. “Jay, you know Erin?”

 

“Uh, your daughter? No.” Jay shook his head. “I mean, I know _of_ her, but I’ve never seen her.”

 

This was true. He knew, of course, Voight had a daughter called Erin. Not that Voight had ever spoken of her that often. Jay had briefly seen her photo on Voight’s desk and had been in the office a couple of times when she had called him on the phone. But he’d just heard the name and put the two things together. After all, he’d only been there three months and Voight was the stoic type.

 

He knew Atwater loved the Cubs and the Blackhawks. Jay went to Ruzek’s place with Antonio most Sundays to watch football. He didn’t know all that much about Olinsky but it was probably more than he knew about Voight’s personal life.

 

“Hmmm,” Voight didn’t sound too confident about the new plan.

 

“Nadia?” Olinsky offered.

 

“Erin calls the office a lot. She knows Nadia’s voice. They talk.” Antonio added. “Boss, I think if you want to do this, Jay is going to be your best bet. He barely looks 25. He can definitely pass for a college senior or grad student.”

 

Voight looked Jay over.

 

“This will be your first undercover assignment in this unit – do you think you can handle it?”

 

Jay nodded. “Yeah, no problem.”

 

“It’s only going to be until this case is squared away. Four weeks tops.” Voight started writing something down on a piece of paper.

 

“Alvin, you think you can get Jay enrolled at the university?”

 

“Do we even need to?” Olinsky asked. “It seems unreasonable for a month-long undercover. We’re almost halfway through the semester. I don’t think I can get him in without some serious effort.”

 

“Well, we need him on campus.”

 

“He just needs a student ID. I can get that, no problem.” Olinsky started flipping through contacts in his phone. “We should get him into a class if we can.”

 

“Fine. Antonio, get me Erin’s schedule. We’ll figure out where we can get Jay in. Here’s her tutoring days.” Voight handed him the piece of paper he had been writing on. “Ruzek, you and Atwater can go scope out the university. I want to know where exactly Erin’s classes are and where we can set up observation points for places Jay can’t get into.”

 

“Want us to talk to campus security?” Atwater asked.

 

“Not yet. Let’s see if this is something we can pull off first.” Voight then turned to Jay.

 

“You good with this, Halstead?” Jay nodded. “Good. You just need to be _friend_ her, okay? Find out where she goes whenever she’s not in class. Her classes might be safe but I want to limit the amount of time she’s alone. I can set up an undercover patrol outside her apartment again but in case she notices them, I’ll need you to be with her whenever you can.” Voight patted Jay’s shoulder. “You do well in this case and I’ll make sure you get a good undercover assignment next time.” He promised.

 

* * *

 

 

Something flew past Jay’s head and it broke him out of his stupor. He turned to see Kevin groan.

 

“Missed you by _this much_ ,” Atwater held his thumb and index finger close together.

 

“Sorry, Jay Ball isn’t going to work today.” Jay joked.

 

Kevin, Adam and Antonio had invented Jay Ball a few weeks ago. Jay had a habit of sitting pretty still; making him an easy target to throw objects at. It was one point to hit Jay’s desk, three points for his body, and five points for his face. Ten points if you could get the object in his mouth.

 

Jay wasn’t a huge fan of the game but the rest of the team seemed to like it. Even Nadia had joined in a couple of times. However, these games were usually reserved for when Olinsky and Voight were out of the office.

 

“Not when you’re a moving target,” Kevin said as he tore off another post-it and scrunched it up. “Hold still.” Jay dodged the next post-it just as Ruzek entered the office.

 

“Good news, bud,” Adam said as he tossed a folder onto Jay’s desk. “Erin’s taking a Greek Architecture class and it’s a big lecture hall. Olinsky said we could get you in since there are so many people in it. The prof doesn’t take a register either.”

 

“Greek architecture?” Jay made a face. “Do you know this stuff?”

 

Adam snorted. “No way, man. Why do you think I became a cop? I barely graduated high school.”

 

“Speak for yourself, Ruzek. I got a 3.6 GPA.” Kevin pumped his fists in the air. “That’s the exact GPA in your new transcripts too.” Jay wasn’t fully enrolling but Olinsky created some paperwork on the off-chance someone looked into his presence at the university.

 

“Why can’t you go undercover instead?” Jay asked Kevin.

 

“Erin’s seen me. She knows I work with her dad,” he shrugged in reply. “Plus it’s not like people would buy me as a student. I’m almost 30 and look like an undercover.”

 

“I thought you couldn’t wait to get your first undercover assignment in this unit, Jay.” Ruzek asked.

 

“I want to go undercover but I didn’t think it would require studying.” Jay flipped through the study outline for the Greek Architecture class. “I know nothing about Greek pottery, Ruzek.”

 

“Erin’s in this class, dork.” Adam retorted. “You’re meant to be taking the same classes as her.”

 

“Can’t you find another class she’s in? Or pick some bullshit class like Bowling 101.”

 

“Nobody has a bowling class.” Adam rolled his eyes; something Jay noticed he had a habit of doing.

 

“Have you ever been to college?” Jay asked. “I didn’t think so. Just pick some Phys Ed classes.”

 

“You’re meant to be a senior. You can’t take easy classes. Erin doesn’t even take Phys Ed. She’s a Criminology major. I can’t get you into them because we’re almost halfway through the semester and she’s taking some hard classes.” Adam pointed out. “Look, don’t worry about it. You’re only there for a couple of weeks until this case is solved so it’s not a big deal.”

 

“Anyway, you just need an excuse to talk to her. The class is just a way to make her believe you’re not a cop.” Kevin reasoned. “Just be glad Olinsky couldn’t enroll you because midterms are coming up and you’re definitely behind on the reading.”

 

Nadia came up to Jay’s desk with a box. “This just got delivered.”

 

Kevin opened up the box and laughed. He pulled out the thick textbook for the class and handed it to Jay. “You better start reading.”

 

* * *

So that’s why Jay was currently looking over a Greek architecture book and trying to remember the differences between ionic, doric and Corinthian column types.

 

“I think that’s enough for today, Kenny.” He heard Erin’s voice followed by the sound of a book closing. “Let me know if you want me to look over the first draft of your paper. I have a paper due tomorrow but I’ll make sure to look over yours later in the week.”

 

“Thanks, Erin,” the kid replied. Jay watched from the corner of his eye. Kenny packed up first and waved goodbye to Erin as he left. Erin was still packing away a couple of things.

 

It was now or never. Jay took a deep breath.

 

“Hey, you’re in Greek Architecture and Sculpture with Professor Robertson, right?” Jay turned in his chair. “I thought I recognized your voice.”

 

Erin looked over at him. “Yeah, I’m in that class.”

 

“I’m Jay. Jason Moore.” Jay extended a hand towards Erin. She hesitated before shaking it.

 

“I’m Erin Lindsay,” she replied. She squinted at him. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’ve noticed you in the class before.”

 

Jay shrugged. “It’s a big class. I tend to stick mostly to the back. I’m not super great on being on time… or there at all.” Erin let out a small chuckle.

 

“Yeah, I guess it’s not really a class where you get to speak to a lot of other people. Robertson always has a lot to say about temples and pots.”

 

“Are you headed there now?” Jay asked. “It’s at 11:30, right?” He looked at his watch. It was 11.09am.

 

Erin looked at her own watch. “Sure, but I’ve got a little time. I was going to head down to the juice bar and get a smoothie.” She told him. There was a short pause. “You wanna come?”

 

Jay nodded. “Sure, that’d be great.” he piled his stuff, and that ridiculously big textbook, into his backpack and followed Erin out of the Study Center.

 

* * *

In a car parked across the road from the library, Ruzek spoke into his radio.

 

“Jump Street and Elle Woods are on the move.”

 

“Copy that.” Atwater’s voice crackled from the other end. “Also, Ruzek, you suck at picking code names.”


	2. Chapter 2

The smoothie place was busy and for the first time Jay was able to _really_ look at Erin.

 

Her hair was dyed blonde. He could see her natural color peeking out a little more clearly from the bright lights of the juice bar. She was shorter than he expected. Jay wasn’t exceptionally tall but Erin was a good few inches shorter than him. Erin fiddled with her keys a lot too. He figured that was a good thing. If anything were to happen, she had her keys at hand; and he betted Voight had given her a lot of self-defense tips over the years.

 

During their brief conversation in the study center, he had mostly been trying to overcome his nerves. He had never been undercover before – at least not solo – and certainly not for longer than a few hours. Pretending you were someone else may have been easy for twenty minutes in front of a suspect, but it was entirely different when the mark was a young woman.

 

His palms were clammy, he could feel beads of sweat forming on his forehead, and he was pretty sure the way his heart was beating was boarding on dangerous.

 

Yeah, it was definitely the undercover thing.

 

Right?

 

“Have you had the kale and kiwi juice here before?” Erin asked him. He raised his eyebrows, realizing that that was the first time either of them had spoken to each other for about four minutes. He hadn’t been on campus yet and was trying to get his bearings without making it obvious he hadn’t been there before. Sure, he had read the surveillance report and looked at maps, but now he realized he really should have taken Antonio’s advice and walked around the campus at the weekend to better acquaint himself with the campus.

 

“Uh, no. I’m not really a kale juice kind of guy,” he replied with a smirk. “I usually just get an orange juice.”

 

“Oh.” Erin offered a tight smile and the two of them lapsed into an awkward silence again.

 

Jay groaned internally. This was harder than he thought. He had managed to successfully make contact with her but now he was struggling to continue the conversation. If he couldn’t cultivate the friendship, then the mission would be useless. Erin wouldn’t want to hang out with a guy who couldn’t carry a conversation.

 

“You know, I should probably try the kale juice. That sounds interesting. Do you get that often?” Jay asked. Erin seemed to brighten.

 

“Pretty much. I thought it looked gross at first but it’s delicious. It’s become my favorite.” The line shuffled forward and Jay noticed they were getting close to the front of the line.

 

“I didn’t realize this place got so busy.” Jay looked around, using the opportunity to scope out the juice bar for anyone who looked suspicious again. It was difficult to decide how dangerous the occupants were due to the sheer amount of people milling around the store and the fact that everybody looked so different anyway.

 

Besides, the unit had already decided that if anyone in the gang they were investigating would try to hurt Erin, they would wait until she was alone or most vulnerable. There would be no sense in attacking her in broad daylight.

 

 _But still_ , Jay thought to himself, _better to be sure._

 

Erin frowned at him. “You’re kidding, right? This place is always packed.” She looked at her cellphone and sighed. “Although it’s way busier today. We’ve got about ten minutes to get our drinks and get to the lecture.”

 

As if on cue, the person in front of them moved on and Erin and Jay walked forward to order together.

 

“I’ll get this,” Jay offered after Erin ordered their drinks for them (two kale and kiwi juices) as he pulled out his wallet.

 

“Oh, you don’t need to do that.” Erin shook her head.

 

“It’s my pleasure,” he smiled. “Besides, it’s the least I could do now that I finally know someone in that class.”

 

Erin smiled back and Jay noticed the deep dimples that formed on her cheeks.

 

He hadn’t seen those before and the first thing he thought was that he’d like to see that again.

 

* * *

 

The auditorium was bigger than he thought it would be. By the time they got to the room, most of the seats had been taken up and it was hard to find two seats together. Jay feared that Erin could use it as an excuse to get out of their social interaction.

 

Sure, she had asked him to come to the juice bar with her and they’d ordered drinks together, but maybe Erin had really good manners. Maybe she felt obligated to hang with him until they got to the class where they could politely part ways.

 

“Oh! There are two seats over here!” Jay looked over to where Erin was pointing and followed her to the seats.

 

Phew.

 

Jay settled into his seat and tried to adjust to sitting at a desk he hadn’t seen since high school. They were still uncomfortable even at 25.

 

“So what’s your major?” Erin asked.

 

“Business.” He answered confidently. They had decided Criminology would be too difficult and Business was broad enough that Jay wouldn’t have to have specialist knowledge of.

 

Wait. He was a Business major, right? Jay remembered it being thrown around but he couldn’t remember for sure what he was meant to be taking. The preparation for this assignment had been a little overwhelming and having the addition of Voight breathing down his neck had been distracting.

 

“What kind of classes are you taking?”

 

Jay tried to think back what Olinsky had written on his transcripts. Other than having a 3.6 GPA, Jay couldn’t remember any particular classes that had been written down.

 

“Oh, you know. Just marketing, finance, and economic ones. What’s your major?” He scratched his head and tried to change the subject.

 

“Criminology.” She answered. “I’m researching my thesis right now.”

 

Before Jay could ask any further, the professor entered the classroom and started the class. Jay breathed a small sigh of relief. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and shot out a quick message to Atwater.

 

_All good. Class starting._

 

He paused and then sent a follow up text:

 

_Whats my major?_

A few minutes later he felt his phone vibrate. Sensing no-one was looking, he checked the message.

 

_English._

 

Dammit. Jay bit his lip.

 

_Can u change it to business? I told her it was business._

Jay could imagine Atwater laughing back in the car and showing Ruzek, who would inevitably roll his eyes. Five minutes later he received another message.

 

_Olinsky’s on it. Idiot_

 

* * *

 

Jay hadn’t been sure what to expect with the lecture but he definitely didn’t expect it to be so completely mind-numbing. It seemed time slowed down every time he checked his watch. He was sure that it was closer to five hours than the two hours it was supposed to be.

 

He did his best to keep up with what the professor was saying but he could barely understand what he was meant to be looking at. He did better with the slides but even then he found himself getting confused and distracted. He silently praised the fact he didn’t need this information for anything. However, everyone else seemed to be writing down notes through the majority of the lecture.

 

He glanced down at his notepad. It was empty. Maybe he should have tried to write down _something_ to pass the time.

 

The class finally came to an end and Jay tried to look like he had been keeping up with the lecture. Erin turned to look at him and smirked.

 

“You look completely over this.” She commented.

 

“Yeah, well. When you’ve seen one pot, you’ve seen them all, right?” That earned a laugh from Erin and another chance for Jay to see her dimples. He liked that. “So you want to go get something to eat?” He asked.

 

Erin studied him for a moment, considering his offer. “No, I’m sorry. I’m kind of busy right now,” she bit her cheek. “I have a paper to write tonight so…”

 

“Oh, no worries. I get it.” Jay reassured. Erin smiled tightly at him. The awkwardness of their interaction lingered in the space between them. Jay wasn’t sure if he should try a different tactic.

 

“I’ll see you around, Jason.” She jumped in first and gave him a small wave before quickly exiting in the opposite direction.

 

Jay groaned. Voight wouldn’t be pleased that he failed on the first day.

 

He picked up his phone and dialed Ruzek’s number.

 

“Hey, it’s me. She’s solo so keep your eyes peeled. I’ll meet you back at the station.”

 

* * *

 

“How was your first day of class, son?” Antonio chuckled as Jay walked up the steps of the office. Jay shot him a look as he dropped his backpack on his desk. “Aw, were people mean to you?”

 

“Shut up, Dawson,” Jay sighed as he sat down in his chair. “If I ever had any regrets about not going to college, this was a definite reminder that I made the right decision.”

 

“It wasn’t fun?”

 

“Have you ever had to sit through a two hour class on broken pots with drawings of naked guys on them?” Jay laughed to himself. “God, that was torture.”

 

“Well, you have class again on Thursday so you better start liking it.” Antonio reminded him. “Erin figure out who you were?”

 

“No, she seemed to buy the story but I couldn’t follow her after class. I’m not sure if I came on too strong.”

 

“You ask her out or something?” Antonio frowned.

 

“What? No!” Jay glanced at Voight’s office – it was empty. “I didn’t. I just asked if she wanted to get some lunch after class. She seemed a little scared off and said she was busy. I didn’t want to push it.”

 

“Good,” Antonio said, “because if you put the moves on Voight’s daughter, you’ll be the one hunted.”

 

“Any progress on the case?” Jay asked as he looked over at the case board. There wasn’t much new information.

 

“Not much. We’re working on it. Voight and Olinsky are out now. Is Ruzek still following Erin?” Dawson asked.

 

“Yeah, he’s got Burgess and Roman around as well. Just in case.” Jay scratched the back of his head. “Dawson, how am I going to get Erin to trust me enough to hang out with her more? I can see her in class but I have no idea if I can even get in to places she’ll be alone. This whole operation will be pointless if I only get to see her in a class with eighty other people.”

 

Antonio thought for a moment. “A study group?” he suggested.

 

Jay wasn’t sure if that was the best idea. Sure, he could pretend to be a student for fifteen minutes before and after a class he wasn’t really following, but he wasn’t sure he could pretend to be a student in a study group that knew what they were talking about and would expect him to know the material too.

 

Then again, it might be the only option.

 

“Yeah, maybe. I’ll think about it.” Jay said staring at the backpack on his desk – the textbook peeking out of the top.

 

A piece of paper flew towards him, skimming his nose.

 

“YES! Five points for me!” Antonio cheered. “Damn, no-one else was here to see it.”

 

* * *

 

The next day, Jay tried to engineer a random encounter with Erin. Atwater thought it might be pushing his luck but gave him Erin’s schedule for the day anyway. He was in gym clothes and heading to the Athletics Center to work out. Erin had a kickboxing class.

 

He felt much more in his element now. He was good at working out. He could pretend they were meeting at a gym rather than as college students. He could be a gym guy.

 

Jay spotted Erin in her class and loitered outside for a few minutes. It was scheduled to end in ten minutes.

 

His original plan was to linger outside and wait until she came out to casually bump into her, but one of the gym staff came up to him and asked him to stop looking into the women’s kickboxing class.

 

Fortunately he discovered that the treadmills were located near the women’s changing rooms. He realized that Erin would have to pass him to get to the changing rooms. If she could spot him instead of the other way around, it would come off a little more naturally.

 

Upon the advice of Antonio, he decided to try and play it cool. Feel out a friendship and get invited places instead of doing the inviting. It would mean Erin had a little more control over the friendship and would – hopefully – trust him more. Jay thought it was a good sign that she had invited him to tag along with her to the juice bar the previous day. He needed more of those interactions.

 

Fifteen minutes after he started up on the treadmill, he spied Erin walking over with a woman he didn’t recognize. He tried to covertly run his eyes over the new companion without catching Erin’s gaze first. He heard her voice get closer and turned to make sure he wasn’t looking in their direction, but be obvious enough for her to spot him.

 

“Jason?” He heard Erin’s voice near him. He looked over at her and smiled, trying to keep his breathing regular as he jogged on the treadmill.

 

“Hey, Erin.” He did his best to look surprised to see her.

 

“Hi.” She smiled back at him. “Oh, this is my friend, Anna.” She introduced him to the girl he’d seen her talking to.

 

“Hi Anna. Nice to meet you.”

 

“You too,” Anna replied before turning to Erin. “I’ve got a class so I’ll see you tonight?” She told Erin. Erin nodded back as Anna left.

 

“What are you doing here?” Erin asked him. Jay pointed down at the treadmill.

 

“Working out. You?” He tried to say it as coolly as possible.

 

“Kickboxing. I just finished my class.” She explained. “Hey, uh, I hope you don’t think it was rude of me yesterday. I didn’t mean to run out on you like that.”

 

Jay was surprised. He wasn’t sure if Erin would mention the awkward way they left things the day before.

 

“No problem. You had a paper.” He reminded her. She seemed relieved.

 

“Yeah, I did. I just thinking that it might have come off a like I was blowing you off or something. I wasn’t. I was just really busy.”

 

Jay pressed buttons on the treadmill to slow down to a walking pace. “Don’t worry about it.”

 

“Ok, cool.” Erin seemed more relaxed. “I’ll see you around?”

 

Jay wasn’t sure if he should press his luck again and try and instigate something. He didn’t want yet another day where Voight was disappointed Jay was unable to develop a friendship with her. But then again, gaining someone’s trust took time – particularly a cop’s daughter who was probably already on her guard.

 

“Sure,” he nodded. He decided to play it cool. It might take longer but hopefully she would be more relaxed in his company in the future. It was only a four week assignment but it would be useless if Erin’s suspicions were raised and she figured out the ruse.

 

Erin tapped the side of his treadmill as if to say goodbye and walked into the women’s changing rooms.

 

Jay sighed and slowed down on the treadmill completely. Another lost day.

 

As he gathered his stuff from around his treadmill, he sensed a figure come up beside him.

 

It was Erin.

 

“Hey, um, a few people I know are having a party tonight. Do you want to tag along?” She asked.

 

“Tonight? Yeah, sure, I can do that.” He said. “Where should I meet you?”

 

Erin grabbed his phone from his hand and punched in her number. She called herself from his phone and hung up.

 

“I’ll call you? We’re probably not heading out until late so I’ll just let you know when we’re getting ready to leave.” She told him. “Oh, and if you want to bring some people along, totally feel free to do that.”

 

With a wave, Erin disappeared back into the changing rooms.

 

Jay tried to keep his cool as she left but he couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across his face. 


	3. Chapter 3

_We’re meeting at Mulligans @ 10. Bring some friends._

Jay’s phone flashed with Erin’s message. Mulligans was a bar on the other side of town popular with students; so fortunately there was no real danger of anyone that Jay knew recognizing him.

 

He had never been a student but he knew that showing up at 10 o’clock on the dot would probably be a social faux pas. He waited until 10:34 to head into the bar – and tried to forget those twenty uncool minutes he spent sitting in his car parked down the street.

 

The place was _loud_. He was no stranger to bars, but student bars were different. The bar smelled sweeter from the sugary liquors being served, and the floors were stickier with substances he decided he was much better not knowing about. He could barely move through the crowd because there were so many people inside. He figured that the big sign outside advertising ‘$4 cocktails’ had something to do with it.

 

He spotted Erin with a group of eight or so other people. He made his way towards her and hoped she would notice him before he had to try and get her attention.

 

“Jason!” Erin waved when she saw him approaching. He could sense that she was already a little buzzed. “Guys, this is Jason. He’s in my Greek Architecture class.” She introduced him to the group, listing off names that he only half heard. The group was mostly female with only three males. Jay glanced at each of the guys by way of assessment: one was shorter than the other two, the other had a muscular build, and the last reminded him of a younger Olinsky. None of them seemed threatening at first impression. 

 

Erin looked behind Jay and frowned. “Hey, I thought you were bringing friends.”

 

“Oh, they couldn’t come.” He explained.

 

“None of them?” She chuckled. “Don’t you have any friends?”

 

Before Jay could respond, one of the girls got Erin’s attention and he was left alone. Jay felt completely out of place. The group had split into different factions, each of whom were busy having their own conversations. No-one seemed bothered by Jay’s presence.

 

“I’m going to get a drink,” Jay managed to tell Erin. “Do you want one?” She nodded and Jay asked the rest of the group. A few hands went up for beers.

 

“I’ll come with you.” Erin slid out of the booth and followed Jay through the crowd towards the bar. “Thanks for coming.” She told him sincerely. “I wasn’t sure if you’d show.”

 

“You invited me and I was free so… why not?” Jay shrugged.

 

“Well, it seems like you didn’t have much going on since you didn’t bring any friends. Come on, Jason, I’m sure you have friends. Where are you hiding them?” She teased.

 

“I wasn’t sure if it was a… friends deal.” Jay explained. Erin’s eyebrows knitted together.

 

“…did you think this was a date?”

 

Jay paused. He wasn’t sure. Was this a date? He didn’t invite anyone because he couldn’t bring anyone from the unit without Erin recognizing them and he couldn’t bring any of his actual friends since he was undercover.

 

“It’s okay. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.” Erin apologized. “I’m glad you came.”

 

“Yeah, me too. I thought when you said ‘party’, I was imagining like… a lot more people. You seem to have a nice group of friends.” He gestured towards the group.

 

Erin scrunched her nose. “Yeah, they’re okay. I only know Anita, Scott and Alison. The others are more their friends. I thought it would be better to invite someone I knew so that I wasn’t stuck listening to Oscar talk about his Philosophy thesis.” She rolled her eyes and they both glanced at Oscar intently explaining something to Anita and one of the other guys.

 

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.” Jay chuckled as he managed to get the bartender’s attention. He ordered seven beers and turned back to Erin.

 

Her face was flushed and there was a sheen of sweat beginning to appear on her brow. There wasn’t much room at the bar so she was squashed between Jay and the back of someone’s chair.

 

“It’s getting kind of hot in here,” she said using a bar menu to fan herself.

 

“Let’s drop the beers off at the table and we’ll go outside for a while, okay?” He suggested as he paid for the drinks. Erin helped Jay take the bottles back to the table before they excused themselves, each taking a bottle for themselves.

 

The cool air hit Jay immediately as they stepped onto the patio outside the bar sending a welcoming chill through his body. There were a few people smoking and chatting around them. Erin found an empty table with a couple of chairs and sat down.

 

“Feeling better?” Jay asked Erin. She held the cold bottle against her forehead.

 

“How did it get so hot in there so quickly?” she sighed. “I almost don’t want to go back in.”

 

“I’m good out here,” Jay took a swig of his beer.

 

“Hey, I’m sorry that the group in there was kind of boring. Most of them are good people. I guess two weeks before midterms is a bad time to go out.” Erin apologized. She seemed embarrassed that Jay wasn’t having a good time.

 

“Whose party was it?” Jay asked. “I wasn’t sure if it was a birthday thing or…”

 

“Oh, Alison got a job at some finance firm. Her uncle or someone works there so it was super easy for her.” Erin made a face.

 

“You don’t seem that happy.” Jay observed.

 

“I’m _happy_ for her.” Jay didn’t think it was very convincing. Erin sighed again. “I just think it would have been better for her to get it on her own merits. She took the easy way out by getting her uncle to help her.”

 

“Isn’t it all about networking?” Jay questioned. “I thought that’s how everyone got things like that.”

 

“Well, sure, networking is one thing but nepotism is just so…” she scrunched up her face in disgust.

 

“So you’re telling me that you wouldn’t ask your dad to help you get a job somewhere?”

 

Erin stared at him. “No.” She said firmly.

 

“Why not? You’re a Criminology major – what do you want to do after graduation?”

 

“I thought we came out here to get away from all of that talk,” Erin teased.

 

Jay didn’t respond. He wanted to know what Erin planned after she graduated. He wanted to know her thoughts on her dad.

 

“I probably want to work in law enforcement. Hopefully the FBI or something. I’d settle for being a detective.”

 

“Settle?” Jay was offended. “Detectives are cool!”

 

Erin laughed. “You think?”

 

“Sure! You get to wear leather jackets and bust drug cartels.” Jay grinned.

 

“My dad’s actually a detective,” Erin said before she paused to look around the people milling around the patio. She seemed to regret revealing that information. There were only three people left outside – two of whom were smoking and the other was finishing up a phone call.

 

“Oh really?” Jay tried to keep his voice steady. The guy on the phone hung up and went back inside the bar. “That’s pretty cool.”

 

“Yeah, I guess. He’s pretty protective.” Erin said.

 

“Seems like a given for a cop.”

 

Erin shrugged.

 

“You don’t get along with your dad?” Jay wasn’t sure if that was the line of questioning he should be exploring. He didn’t want to scare Erin off but he was curious to know her thoughts about Voight. She had seemed pretty insistent on not wanting any type of police protection. It must have had to stem from somewhere.

 

“That’s a pretty loaded question, Jason,” Erin took a sip of her beer. “I hardly know you.”

 

“Sorry.”

 

Jay watched Erin drink her beer. The cheerful, slightly drunk girl he saw thirty minutes ago was subdued and seemed preoccupied. Jay played with the label on his beer bottle and listened to the music faintly coming out from the bar. The door clicked open and three more people came out.

 

“Do you want to head back inside?” He asked. She shook her head.

 

“No, I like it out here.”

 

“I’m sorry I didn’t bring any friends.” He apologized.

 

“Just remember for next time.”

 

“Oh,” Jay’s lips pulled into a small smile. “There’ll be a next time?”

 

Erin rolled her eyes but laughed. “Yeah, you’re fun to hang out with. You don’t talk about your major like _all_ the time. I know we’re graduating soon but I don’t care about internships or grad school or any of that right now.”

 

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

 

“Well, what about you?” Erin asked. “Any plans after graduation? What’s a Business major to do with all his knowledge of business?”

 

“Oh, you know. Press buttons, file stuff, staple things, maybe get some intern to get me coffee. That’s basically what business is, right?”

 

“Yeah, except you’ll probably be that intern.”

 

“Gotta start somewhere.” Jay joked. He pointed his beer bottle towards Erin and she clinked her own bottle against it.

 

“I’ll drink to that,” she replied. “I think I’m going to head home.”

 

Jay stood up and she looked up at him. “I’ll take you home.”

 

“Very smooth, Jason.”

 

“No, it’s not like that. My car is over there. The streets are dangerous this time of night.”

 

Erin scoffed. “You sound like my dad.”

 

“Yeah? Well, your dad is a detective so I think we should take his advice.” Jay took Erin’s empty bottle and threw it in the trashcan nearby. “Do you want to say goodbye to your friends?”

 

“Nah, I don’t feel like going back inside. I’ll text Alison when I get home.”

 

Jay let Erin lead the way as they began walking back to Jay’s car. He unlocked his car and opened the passenger door for Erin. She eyed him suspiciously.

 

“How many beers have you had?” She asked.

 

“Just the one,” he held up his index finger. He knew that she knew that – she’d seen him order and drink it – but he liked that she double checked. Erin got into the car and Jay jogged around to the driver’s side.

 

“I live on Warner,” she explained although she didn’t need to. Erin lived a twenty three minute walk (or twelve minutes by car) from the bar. Jay knew this because he had checked before he had arrived. He wasn’t sure how the night would go, but he wanted to know what Erin’s likely movements may be just in case.

 

They drove mostly in silence. Jay could tell that Erin was getting a little sleepy but it was only quarter to midnight. He realized how little time they’d actually spent at the bar. He was glad that the majority of it had been with Erin instead of her friends.

 

Jay made the turn onto Erin’s street and she let out a yawn. She pointed out her house as they pulled up.

 

“Well, thanks for the ride.” Erin smiled at him gratefully.

 

“No problem.” Jay said. The engine was still running. To turn it off would be presumptuous. Erin unbuckled her seatbelt and rested a hand on the door handle. She didn’t move any further and Jay wasn’t sure what he else should say.

 

“I’ll see you in class.” It was a statement, not a question. Jay nodded.

 

“See you in class.”

 

Erin opened the door and climbed out. She popped her head back down into the car.

 

“If you don’t have plans on Saturday night, Alison’s having another party at her apartment. It’ll be bigger. You should come and bring a friend.” She said pointedly.

 

“Another party? How am I meant to become a coffee intern if I don’t get to study my business books?” Jay joked, earning a laugh from Erin.

 

“Yeah, yeah. Just come and prove you have friends. I don’t trust guys without friends.” Erin winked and closed the car door.

 

Jay watched Erin walk up to her apartment building and walk into the building. He put the car in gear and started driving in the direction of his house.

 

Now he had to find a friend.


	4. Chapter 4

“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Sean Roman muttered as he closed the top button of his shirt. He looked in the mirror and undid the button, loosening the collar a little.

 

“You’re doing me a huge favor, Roman,” Jay assured. “Erin knows Intelligence so you were pretty much my only option.”

 

“Gee, thanks.” Roman sighed as he looked at his reflection. “What do college kids wear?”

 

“Same thing as we wear.” Jay laughed. Roman was clearly overthinking this.

 

“When you told me Intelligence wanted me undercover, I was all for it. I didn’t think it’d be babysitting his kid.”

 

“Come on, man.” Jay tried his best to get Sean in a better mood. “This is my first undercover assignment. It is what it is and I’m struggling. I need Erin onside. If she gets hurt, that’s it. I’ll be out of the unit. Plus she’s Voight’s daughter; she’s one of our own.”

 

“Fine,” Roman finally agreed. He studied his outfit once again and didn’t seem very satisfied. Jay had already talked him out of wearing a snapback but Roman was looking at the hat fondly. Jay grabbed the hat and placed it on Roman’s head.

 

“Here, you can have the hat.” Jay hoped it would stop Roman’s complaining. “Let’s go find Burgess.”

 

Burgess was already waiting for them by the front desk. She was wearing a dark pair of jeans and a blue top with gold sequins on it. Jay had never seen her with bright red lipstick on but she looked great. Burgess was also way more confident in this mission than Roman was.

 

“Finally!” she exclaimed when she saw them. “You guys take forever.”

 

“Blame Roman,” Jay told her. “He couldn’t decide how many buttons to do up on his shirt.”

 

Burgess looked at Roman’s outfit and chewed her lip. “Maybe undo one more button. It’s a party! You don’t want to look like you’re at your grandma’s house.” She teased playfully. Even Roman couldn’t help smile at her gentle ribbing.

 

* * *

Jay, Burgess and Roman walked up to Alison’s apartment building. The party was on the second floor and they could hear the music thumping out as they approached.

 

“This place is insane,” Burgess commented as she surveyed her surroundings. There were a few people drinking beers and loitering around the entrance to the apartment building. Jay wondered how old they were. They didn’t quite look like seniors but it was too dark so he couldn’t be sure.

 

“Keep an eye on them,” Jay heard Burgess murmur to Roman. They were undercover but their inner police officers couldn’t help but be wary.

 

The music only got louder as they reached Alison’s floor. Jay didn’t need to knock because the door was already open. He wondered how her neighbors hadn’t complained yet.

 

It took a while to spot Erin. Jay saw her in the kitchen with one of the girls he’d briefly met in the bar the previous night. Her hair was swept up into a ponytail and she was wearing a leather skirt and an emerald silk blouse.

 

“Hey,” Jay gingerly placed a hand on her shoulder. He didn’t want to make her jump. She turned and grinned at him as she opened her arms slightly as if to go in for a hug. She seemed to think better of it and just patted his arm instead.

 

“Jason! I’m glad you made it.” She said. Jay believed she was sincere, which secretly delighted him. Erin’s eyes flicked to Burgess and Roman; waiting for an introduction.

 

“Erin, these are two of my friends – Felicity and Colin.” He gestured to the two and they waved back at Erin and the friend Jay couldn’t remember the name of.

 

“Nice to meet you.” Erin passed them each beers from the fridge next to her. “I’m glad Jason finally brought you guys. He was meant to bring someone to the bar on Thursday,” she nudged Jay playfully. 

 

Jay looked sheepish. Hopefully Erin wouldn’t mention Jay’s solo appearance as believing it was a date; especially not in front of Roman and Burgess. Roman had a surprisingly big mouth to spread gossip around the station. The last thing Jay needed was for Voight to think he was making moves on his daughter.

 

“There’s a lot of people here,” Burgess commented as she looked around. Since they had arrived half an hour previously, the small apartment had become crowded very quickly.

 

“I know! I only got here like an hour ago. It was busy then too.”

 

“Is it always like this?” Jay asked. Erin shook her head.

 

“No, this is way busier than usual.” There was a huge crash followed by a loud cheer from somewhere outside the apartment. “Um, I should go check that out and make sure Alison isn’t getting into any trouble.” She made a face. “But you should enjoy the party. I’ll come find you later.”

 

They watched as she left in the direction of the noise before Jay scratched his head and turned to his colleagues. “Okay, let’s split up. This party looks like it’s already violating about fifteen fire codes right now. Let’s do a sweep and make sure that there’s nothing dangerous here. Roman, you check outside. Burgess, you and me will split up in here.”

 

“What about Erin?” Burgess asked. 

 

“Keep eyes on her. We’ve got to make sure she stays safe. Keep tabs on anyone you see around her or talking to her.”

 

Burgess and Roman nodded and went their separate ways.

 

The small apartment was ridiculously loud and cramped. Moving through the apartment was more difficult than Jay imagined. There were people falling into him, spilling their drinks, and grinding up on each other. The bar earlier that week had seemed deserted compared.

 

He couldn’t find Erin. It had been almost twenty minutes and there were a lot of girls who looked similar to her. He spotted Alison making out with someone (he wasn’t sure if it was the guy Erin said was her boyfriend) but Erin was nowhere in sight.

 

Jay tried to stay calm as his eyes scanned the room. Erin couldn’t have left. She hadn’t seemed likely to have left within the twenty minutes they had last spoken to each other. He decided to wait by the bathroom in case she was in there.

 

* * *

Burgess heard Erin’s voice nearby and peeked her head into one of the bedrooms. She recognized Erin’s ponytail as the figure was crouched beside someone in the corner of the room.

 

“You okay?” Burgess called as she approached. Erin turned back and looked at her.

 

“Yeah, it’s fine.” She looked apologetic as she gestured to the girl she was holding. “Suzanne had a little too much to drink.” The other girl was throwing up into the trashcan.

 

“I’ll go get some tissues and water.” Burgess said as she turned back and made her way back to the kitchen.

 

Jay grabbed her arm when she walked past the bathroom.

 

“Hey! Erin’s in that bedroom helping someone throw up.” Burgess said before she pulled on Jay’s jacket and beckoned him close. “I think we need to shut this place down. This is too busy.”

 

He looked around. There was definitely a chance that cops would be coming soon. Burgess grabbed some tissues from the kitchen and picked up a bottle of water from the fridge. She undid the cap and sniffed to make sure it was water. She spotted Roman’s face in the crowd and called out to him. Jay managed to get his attention and bring him where they could talk.

 

“There’s a lot of kids downstairs, and I mean _kids_. Some of these people are definitely underage.” Roman said. “I don’t want to be _that_ guy at a party but if the mission is to keep Erin safe, this would be the worst place. I could barely find you guys. Three of us looking out for her isn’t going to be enough if we want to stay here.”

 

“You’re right.” Jay agreed. “Okay, we’re getting Erin out. Roman, you go downstairs and call this in five minutes. We’ll be behind you. We need to get out of here before they get here in case they blow our covers.”

 

Roman left and Jay followed Burgess back towards the bedroom. The girl that had been throwing up looked a little better now; another friend was sitting by her and helping Erin out. Erin took the water Burgess offered and gave it to the girl.

 

“It’s getting crazy in here. You want to leave?” Jay placed a hand over Erin’s shoulders and leaned in.

 

“Yeah, I’m kind of over this.” Erin said, much to his relief. “Where are you guys going?”

 

Jay had hoped Erin would want to go back to her place but she didn’t seem like she was ready to go home; she just wanted to get away from the party.

 

“There’s an ice cream place on 5th,” Burgess suggested. “It’s open until 3am.”

 

 “I could go for some ice cream.” Erin agreed.

 

The trio pushed through the throngs of students in the apartment and managed to head down the stairs. Jay couldn’t believe how many more people had been in the hallways and outside the building. They were definitely doing the right thing calling it in.

 

They spotted Roman waiting at the end of the road. He gave Burgess and Jay a small nod as they got closer. As the four of them began walking down the street to Erin’s car, they heard sirens approaching followed by flashes of lights. By the time they got to Erin’s car, four cop cars had surrounded the apartment and the partygoers began to scramble to get away from the vacinity.

 

“Wow,” Erin breathed a sigh of relief as she drove past the building. “Guess we left just in time.”

 

* * *

The ice cream shop wasn’t very busy so they managed to find a booth easily. Roman and Jay were ordering for them while Burgess and Erin sat in the booth. Erin seemed to have relaxed in their company and didn’t seem to mind having left the party early.

 

“I’m glad Jason finally brought some friends.” Erin told her. “I thought he would have brought people to the bar on Thursday but I think he thought it was a date.”

 

“Well, he asked but I was working on Thursday night.” Burgess covered.

 

“So are you and Jason close?” Erin asked. Burgess could tell that Erin was trying to sound casual. She thought that maybe Erin was the one with the tiny crush.

 

“We’re both Business majors,” Burgess said sipping on a glass of ice water. “I’ve known him since sophomore year. We’re just friends.”

 

“Oh,” Erin played with the menu on the table. Burgess thought she glimpsed a small smile on her face.

 

“He’s a great guy. I’d trust him with my life.” Burgess wasn’t sure if that laid the sentiment on too thick. Was that a weird thing for someone to say within an hour of meeting someone new?

 

“Yeah, he seems great.” Erin agreed before changing the subject. “We were so lucky we left when we did. I’m glad I’m not Alison.”

 

“Those parties always get so busy?” Burgess asked.

 

“Yeah, but never that crazy. There are a lot of students who live in that apartment block because it’s only ten minutes from campus.” Erin explained. “I just keep thinking how lucky it is that we cleared out of there in time.”

 

“Scared of cops?” Roman teased as he brought back the ice cream cups. He handed one to Burgess while Jay handed Erin hers. Erin chuckled as Jay slid into the booth next to her.

 

“My dad’s a cop. He’s with CPD.” She told them. Roman and Burgess did their best to look surprised.

 

“Wow, that must be… fun.” Burgess offered taking a bite of her ice cream. Erin rolled her eyes.

 

“It’s no picnic.” She replied before frowning. “Sorry, I’ve only just met you guys and already you’ve seen me with my friend’s head in the toilet and now I’m complaining about my family. You should be telling me all about you guys.” She said.

 

Burgess and Roman glanced at each other and then Jay. They had offered to step in as “Jason’s friends” just to help him look good to Erin but they hadn’t really expanded on their backstories beyond their majors and how long they’d known “Jason”.

 

“I’m actually going to get this ice cream to go.” Burgess pretended to stifle a yawn. “I’m so tired.”

 

“Yeah, me too. I’ll walk you home.” Roman offered.

 

“Oh, I can drive you guys.” Erin said.

 

“That’s okay,” Burgess shook her head. “You guys stay here. We live close by anyway.” She told them. Erin watched with interest as the two gathered their things and said their goodbyes. Once they had exited the store, Erin turned to Jay with a glint in her eye.

 

“Are they together?” She asked excitedly. Jay shook his head.

 

“Them?!” He said. “No, no way. They’re just friends.”

 

“Well, she seemed awfully eager to leave and he was very keen on walking her home. We barely even got the ice cream before they cleared out of here. Come on, you can tell me.” Erin nudged Jay. “They’d be cute.”

 

“I swear.” Jay held his hands up. “Just friends.”

 

“Oh,” Erin said, clearing her throat. “So maybe they made a hasty exit so that we’d be left alone?”

 

“Uh…” Jay looked down at his melting ice cream. “So were you really scared of getting arrested?”

 

Erin’s smile faltered. “I don’t know. I guess. My dad would have been completely pissed at me. I try and stay out of trouble.”

 

“Have you ever been arrested?” Jay asked, genuinely curious. Voight was a pretty scary dude, even as a boss. Jay could understand that being a cop’s kid would probably mean a lot more pressure on staying in line. “Especially with your dad being a cop and all.”

 

“No, but I try to make sure people don’t really know that about me.” Erin said. “Lindsay is actually my middle name. Erin _Lindsay_ Voight. My dad works undercover a lot.” She whispered the word ‘undercover’ even though the place was basically empty. “Some of the people he puts away hold grudges and threaten my dad through me. After my mom died, my dad got kind of protective. When I was in high school, sometimes my dad would assign protective detail on me if he got worried. It didn't really get me many friends.”

 

Jay hadn’t expected Erin to reveal that information. “He was just trying to keep you safe.”

 

Erin sighed. “Yeah, well, people don't really want to hang out with a girl who has police officers following her every move.”

 

“When did you drop the Voight?”

 

“After high school I decided I wanted to go by my middle name. Dad thought it would be a good idea too. It's harder to find me, I guess. Plus people used to call me ‘Voight's girl’ all the time and it got kind of old. I used to go to parties and some people started calling me a narc, which didn't really go down well. Eventually, I stopped going to the parties and eventually I stopped being invited. I guess nobody wanted a girl whose dad was an overprotective cop at their underage parties.”

 

Jay put his arm around Erin’s shoulders. She seemed to have gone through a lot just by being Voight’s daughter. He now understood why she had refused police protection and gotten angry when she discovered Atwater following her.

 

Erin rested her head on Jay’s shoulders briefly before sitting back up and looking at him. She squinted and looked at his face studiously.

 

“So… when are you going to ask me out?” She asked him. Jay’s eyes widened.

 

“Uh, what?” He replied dumbly.

 

“Isn’t this what’s happening? You came the party tonight and the bar on Thursday. You introduced me to your friends. We’re talking about my family.” She pointed out. When Jay didn’t say anything, she sat up properly. “That’s what you intended to do, right?”

 

Jay didn’t know how to respond. His assignment was to befriend Erin; not date her. Voight had been extremely clear about that. He had worried that maybe he had been coming across strong and giving mixed signals, but Erin had appeared to be keeping him at arm’s length. He had tried hard to spend time with her so she could trust him enough to be friends but now he seemed to have tried _too_ hard.

 

“I, uh…” Jay faltered and he saw Erin’s smile drop. She slid a few inches away from him and picked up her jacket.

 

“Never mind,” she said as she gathered her things. “I got the message.”

 

Jay wasn’t sure if he had to get up and follow her but she was already halfway out of the door before he’d even realized it. He had no idea how to fix this situation. He had strict instructions from Voight about what kind of relationship was appropriate with Erin, but now he ran the risk of losing her and the assignment altogether. How was he going to tell Voight about this?

 

He heard Erin’s car drive past the ice cream shop and he sighed. Jay picked his things up and walked out of the door. He flicked through his phone contacts and pressed ‘call’. The phone picked up on the fourth ring.

 

“Hey, Alvin? It’s me. I need your help.”


	5. Chapter 5

Jay rushed into the precinct and made his way to the entrance of the Intelligence Unit.

 

“Halstead!” Sargent Platt’s voice bellowed from the reception desk. Jay spun around to see her smirking at him. “How’s college?”

 

Jay sighed and turned back, putting his hand on the palm reader and entering the passcode to get through the gate. As he ascended the staircase, he could hear Sargent Platt mention something about homework.

 

The office was empty when he got there.

 

“Olinsky?” he called.

 

Olinsky rolled out from his corner and held up a finger, gesturing to the cellphone in his hand. Jay looked around while he waited. The office was eerie when it was dark and empty. He was fortunate that Olinsky was still around when he’d called.

 

“That was Ruzek,” Olinsky said after hanging up the phone. “Erin got home. There’s an unmarked patrol car outside her apartment for the night.”

 

“Voight’s not here, right?” Jay peered over at Voight’s office door. It was open but empty.

 

“It’s just you and me.” Alvin assured. “What happened?”

 

“I screwed up, Olinsky.” Jay ran a hand through his hair and sat in the seat opposite Alvin. “I went to the party with Roman and Burgess and the place was insane. We got Erin out and called it in.”

 

“Yeah, Atwater told me.” Olinsky replied. “Sounds like you did the best thing to protect Erin.”

 

“So did I, but then we went to an ice cream place and we were talking,” Jay groaned, “and Erin asked me out.”

 

Olinsky didn’t react. Jay frowned.

 

“Erin. Asked. Me. Out.” He repeated emphatically. “Well, actually she was waiting for me to ask her out.”

 

“And?”

 

“How are you not freaking out about it?” Jay questioned urgently. “Aren’t you like her godfather or something?”

 

Alvin chuckled. “I’m not her godfather. I’ve known her for years though. Come on, Jay, you can’t be surprised she thought you liked her. She’s known you less than a week and you’ve been around her almost every day. You approached her first, you both went out twice. It’s natural for her to _assume_ and maybe feel the same way.”

 

“Thanks, professor, but you need to tell me how to fix this!” Jay exclaimed. He had expected Alvin’s reaction to be a little less on the calm and rational side. “How am I going to complete the assignment if she won’t talk to me again?”

 

“Why wouldn’t she be ta-” Olinsky paused, “wait, what did you say?”

 

“Well… kinda nothing. She asked me if I was ever going to ask her out and I just didn’t say anything because I knew Voight would kill me if I went on a date with her. Then Erin got upset and ran off. That’s when I called you.” Jay explained.

 

Olinsky didn’t look amused.

 

“You’re an idiot.”

 

“Yeah, that seems to be a theme lately,” Jay rolled his eyes but he really couldn’t blame Alvin for thinking that. Even he thought he had been an idiot about it.

 

“So you’re sure she won’t speak to you again?” Alvin asked after a few moments.

 

“I didn’t really leave things in a good way. _I_ wouldn’t talk to me again.”

 

Alvin tapped his fingers on his desk, deep in thought. Jay wanted to ask what he was thinking but felt it was probably better to keep quiet until Alvin was ready.

 

“Okay, here’s what we do,” Alvin said finally. “On Monday, you apologize to her and tell her that you were caught off-guard. Tell her you like her but you didn’t want to be too forward. She might still be pissed at you but you’ve gotta push the friends angle.”

 

“Do you think Erin would still want to be friends?” Jay asked. He personally felt that he had screwed things royally back at the ice cream store.

 

Alvin shrugged. “I don’t know. She’s a great girl. She seemed to welcome you into her life pretty quickly before this so it sounds like she likes you. If she doesn’t buy it, we’ll try again. But if it’s useless, then we’ll have no choice but to go back to Voight and tell him you were made.” Alvin shrugged. “He’ll be pissed but we’ll come up with another plan if we need to.”

 

Jay sighed. “I hope you’re right. I can’t screw this assignment up. Not when it’s my first undercover _and_ Voight’s daughter.”

 

“Hey, you have a whole unit to back you up. None of us are going to let anything happen to Erin.” Alvin assured. “And we’re not going to let anything happen to _you_.”

 

* * *

Jay drummed his fingers on his thigh as he waited to catch sight of Erin. He had turned up outside the gym a few minutes early to talk to her before her kickboxing class began. He hadn’t heard from her at all since Saturday night. He had wanted to text her, but Olinsky had advised against it. No point in making the situation worse.

 

Jay saw a blur of blonde hair swish past him as it made its way towards the entrance of the gym.

 

“Hey, Erin!” He called. She looked at him momentarily, catching his eye before she turned back; making her way further away from him. Jay chased after her, bumping into another student exiting the gym on the way. “Erin, wait a sec!”

 

Jay slowed as her caught up to her by the reception desk. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she looked at him with pursed lips.

 

“Yes?” Her tone was clipped and Jay could sense the irritation from Saturday night still in her voice.

 

“Look, about Saturday-”

 

“I don’t want to talk about that.” Erin replied curtly. “Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else.” She adjusted her gym bag on her shoulder and handed her student ID to be swiped at the front desk. A couple of girls standing at the desk gave Jay a look as Erin’s card was passed back to her.

 

“Erin…” His words faltered as Erin ignored him and walked down the hallway towards the changing rooms. She didn’t turn back to look at him once.

 

* * *

Jay sat out on a bench outside the gym in a miserable mood. He hadn’t been looking forward to facing Erin since the events on Saturday night but he had been hopeful that he could fix things like Olinsky had suggested. It didn’t look that way now.

 

He pulled out his phone and started looking for Olinsky’s number.

 

“Jay!” Erin’s voice came from somewhere behind him. He turned around to see her approaching him as she exited the gym.

 

He braced himself, unsure if he wanted to be on the receiving end of whatever this might be. He had seen Voight pissed off and if Erin was anything like her father; it wouldn’t be a pleasant sight.

 

Erin’s expression didn’t look as angry as before. That in itself was unsettling. She took a seat opposite him on the bench and sighed.

 

“You’ve been out here all this time?” she asked. He couldn’t tell from her tone whether she was annoyed or not about it.

 

“Uh, yeah. I wanted to talk to you.” He told her.

 

“Well, I’ve taken most of my frustrations out in that kickboxing class,” Erin said. “And I think I owe you an apology.” She added. Jay stared at her.

 

“Um, why?” he asked.

 

“I realize that I might have maybe overreacted a little on Saturday. I should have apologized to you earlier when you tried to talk to me. I was still mad.”

 

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Jay told her. “You have every right to be mad. I didn’t handle things like I should have.”

 

“I shouldn’t have assumed that you were only being nice to me because you liked me in _that_ way. That was kinda…” she sighed, “I don’t know. I guess I was really enjoying your company and I just assumed that’s what was happening.”

 

Erin made a face and buried her head in her hands.

 

“God, just thinking about it is embarrassing. I thought it’d be a cute thing to say and that you’d say ‘yes’. But instead you didn’t say anything and you looked so shocked!” She shuddered. “Definitely in my top three most embarrassing moments ever.”

 

Jay chuckled. “Erin, I really should be apologizing to you. I’m sorry if I sent you any mixed signals. It’s not that I don’t like you like that; I was just hoping that we could take it slow and take time getting to know each other. I mean, I would really like to be friends with you.” Jay said. He felt bad that some of those words were how Olinsky had suggested he make amends with Erin, but most of them were his own.

 

Erin’s lips tugged into a small smile. “I’d like to be friends with you too. Can we have a do-over?” She asked.

 

Jay was relieved. He honestly thought that the whole assignment had been shot to hell. He had spent most of his time out on the bench deciding how to explain the failure of the mission to Voight.

 

“Of course,” he extended his hand and Erin shook it. “Want a kale juice?” he asked with raised eyebrows.

 

“Sure,” she said happily as she slipped out of her seat.

 

“Good,” Jay stood up too. “And now you can tell me what else is in your top three embarrassing moments.” Erin let out a loud laugh and Jay’s smile widened.

 

He loved that sound.

 

* * *

“What are you smiling about?” Ruzek asked Jay as he walked into the bullpen. Jay shrugged and made his way to his desk.

 

“Nothing.”

 

Olinsky and Jay had agreed not to tell the others about Saturday night’s snafu. Jay was feeling awkward enough that he’d upset Erin and almost blown the entire assignment without the rest of the unit finding out. Roman and Burgess had left shortly before the incident so he knew they wouldn’t say anything. Despite them being detectives, Jay figured that the unit would probably be terrible at keeping inter-office secrets.

 

He definitely didn’t want Voight to be breathing down his neck any more than he already was.

 

“Halstead!” Voight appeared from the break room. “My office. Now!”

 

Jay’s smile disappeared and he followed his boss into the office.

 

“What’s up, boss?” Jay asked as casually as possible.

 

“I need a progress report.” Voight said. “You’ve been undercover almost a week. How is it going?”

 

“Uh, fine.” Jay replied.

 

“Fine?” Voight frowned. “Halstead, I’m going to need something more than that. How’s Erin? Does she suspect anything?”

 

“I don’t think so.” Jay’s second reply was also met with a frown. “I mean, she seems to buy my cover. She hasn’t mentioned anything about the cars we’ve got following her so I think we’re good there.”

  
“Atwater said that you’ve been in contact five times this week.” Voight wrote some notes down on a piece of paper. “Is that true?”

 

“Yes. The first contact was at the study center and I stayed with her until the end of class that day. We met at a party at a bar on Thursday, another party on Saturday night, and one time in the gym last Wednesday.” Jay recalled. “We also met this morning at the gym.”

 

“Good,” Voight said, “but I want you to try and increase the amount of time you’re spending with her. We could only get you into one class so we’ll have to think outside college events. Now I’m not saying that you go to more parties, but I need you in places where she’s more likely to be alone and vulnerable. We have patrol cars but they’re not going to be able to be there all the time. I need you with her as much as possible. Got that?”

 

Jay nodded.

 

“Work with Atwater on ways to make it happen, but I can’t have you guys spending too much time on it. We’re barely making progress on this case as it is. I need you to look at some phone records when Antonio gets back.” Voight told him. “You’re dismissed.”

 

Jay scrambled out of Voight’s office as coolly as he could. Once he got back in the bullpen, Atwater was already waiting for him.

 

“Come on, college. Let’s find out what else we can get you in.” He beckoned Jay to his desk.

 

Jay caught sight of Olinsky in the break room. He held up his index finger to Atwater. “Yeah, let me get a coffee real quick first, okay?” Atwater nodded and Jay made his way into the break room.

 

“How did it go, Halstead?” Olinsky asked as he added milk into his coffee. “Everything good?”

 

“Yeah, she apologized and we’re friends again.” Jay took a mug out from the cupboard and started pouring himself a cup of coffee. “Your advice worked.”

 

“ _She_ apologized?” Olinsky raised his eyebrows. “That’s not something I was expecting.”

 

“Yeah, I was surprised too. It’s a huge relief though.”

 

“I’ll bet.” Olinsky shot a furtive glance towards Voight’s office and lowered his voice. “Look Jay, this assignment is only worth it if you keep Erin onside. That’s all Voight wants; for her to be safe.”

 

“Yeah, I know.” Jay nodded. He took a seat opposite Alvin.

 

“Look, the fact that Erin apologized to you means that she clearly wants to have some sort of relationship with you. It’s probably just a friendship so try to be as neutral as possible. It’s going to be harder now that Voight wants you to increase your exposure to her. You’ve just got to remember that if you can’t keep it neutral and if things are heading in _that_ way, you take it, okay?”

 

“What?” Jay seemed confused.

 

“If she asks you out again; you gotta say yes.”

 

“But Voight said-”

 

“We won’t tell Voight. If this is what we have to do to keep her safe, we’re going to do it. But if that happens, you come to me only, okay?” Olinsky leaned in. “Nobody else.”

 

Jay couldn’t think of an appropriate response to what Alvin was suggesting.

 

“Yo, Halstead, you about ready?” Atwater’s voice called from the bullpen. “Come on, man, you growin’ the coffee beans yourself?”

 

Olinsky got up from his seat and walked out of the break room like nothing happened, leaving Jay sitting at the table on his own.

 

What the hell had he gotten himself into?


	6. Chapter 6

Jay and Erin settled into their seats as they prepared for another Greek architecture lecture. Jay wasn’t looking forward to another three hours of the professor’s droning about pottery but the upside was that it was three hours next to Erin.

 

Three boring hours.

 

He didn’t bother opening his textbook and instead slumped back in his seat and doodled on his notepad.

 

Erin nudged him a couple of times but didn’t say anything. Eventually she slid a note towards him.

 

_You’re not taking notes?_

 

Her handwriting was really neat. Jay liked the loop in the ‘g’ in particular. He scrawled back:

 

_Can’t I just borrow urs?_

Erin shot him a mock annoyed look when she read it.

 

_Yeah. But this stuff will be on the midterm nxt week_

 

Jay’s eyes widened. Erin must have sensed his panic because she her eyebrows knitted together. She flipped a few pages of her notepad and pulled out a folded piece of paper. On the top Jay read the words: COURSE OUTLINE.

 

He looked down at where Erin’s finger was pointing to next week’s date and the word ‘MIDTERM’ was highlighted in orange.

 

Jay didn’t know what to say. He had known midterms were coming but he didn’t think he would actually have to _take_ it.

 

Maybe he still didn’t have to. He wasn’t really a student. His grades didn’t really matter.

 

Either way, he made more of an effort to pay attention to the rest of the class. If he did have to take them, he’d at least have to know _something_.

 

At the end of the class, Jay leant back in his seat and sighed. Erin let out a small laugh. “You really didn’t know? What about your other classes? You don’t have midterms for those?”

 

Jay shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He’d never been in college; this was all new territory for him.

 

“Never mind,” Erin said finally as she packed her notepad away. “I’ll help you study. Actually, I could do with a study partner.” She grinned. “But I’m not going to do any studying tonight. Hey, you want to see a movie instead?”

 

Jay nodded. “Uh, sure, that sounds good.”

 

“Great!” Erin flipped her hair. “Alright, I’ve gotta run to the study center. I’ll text you later. Look up some movies, okay? I’ll see you tonight.” She said as she started making her way up the steps.

 

“Wait!” Jay called after her. “I’ll walk you there.” He said as he grabbed his backpack off his desk. Erin smiled and waited for him to catch up with her.

 

* * *

“She’s at the study center,” Jay walked away from the library after safely delivering Erin to the library. He pressed the phone closer to his ear as he passed a guy strumming a guitar.

 

“Okay, we’ve got a set of eyes in the library. They’ll follow her to the gym too. Voight wants you back here for a briefing.” Ruzek’s voice cracked through the phone. “I’m parked by the Starbucks across the street.”

 

Jay spotted Ruzek’s car and made his way over the road; entering the vehicle as quickly as he could.

 

“How was class, son?” Ruzek said in a deep voice before breaking out into a grin. “Belt up.” He motioned to Jay’s seatbelt

 

“Did you know midterms are next week?” Jay said as he clicked his seatbelt into place. Ruzek started the engine and the two drove off towards the police station.

 

“So what? You gotta study?” Ruzek shrugged.

 

“I don’t know! You think I have to take them?” Jay scratched his head.

 

“Probably? It’s not like you can’t take it without blowing your cover. What did Erin say?” Ruzek asked.

 

“She said she’d help me study but I’ve been to two classes. I’m supposed to have been in this class all semester. God, I don’t even know half the stuff they’re referring to. What the hell is a frieze?!”

 

“Okay, dude, don’t worry. We’ll work something out.” Ruzek assured. “You can’t do anything now though. We’ve got police work to do. You know… your _actual_ job?”

 

“Yeah, yeah.” Jay muttered. “Most students are taking naps at this time, just so you know.”

 

* * *

_Be there in 2 secs_ :)

 

Jay’s phone buzzed as he stood outside the theatre waiting for Erin. Since his discussion with Olinsky, Jay realized he needed to immerse himself into Erin’s life without worrying about what Voight might think about it.

 

This was the assignment.

 

Besides, Jay figured he could have gotten a worse assignment. He’d heard some stories from Kevin and Antonio about undercovers they had been on, and at least Jay was spending his pretty safely and in the company of a beautiful girl.

 

No, he couldn’t think she was beautiful. That was definitely on the list of things he wasn’t allowed to do.

 

But going to the movies seemed like a pretty good idea.

 

Friends go to movies.

 

Even if it’s two of them.

 

At an eight o’clock evening showing on a Friday night.

 

Watching some Nicholas Sparks movie.

 

Jay looked at the poster of two stupidly attractive people staring at each other and made a face just as Erin walked up.

 

“I hope that’s not for me,” she teased as she saw his expression. Jay’s scowl faded and he replaced it with a small grin.

 

“No, I was just reading the poster. This sounds like a great movie!” he lied. She scoffed.

 

“It sounds terrible. But it’s either this or that reboot of that robot movie from twenty years ago.” She shrugged. “Which one do you want to watch?”

 

“We could flip a coin.” Jay dug out a quarter from his pocket. “Okay, robot movie is heads and the chick flick is tails. You call.”

 

“Heads!” she cried as Jay launched it into the air. Jay looked down at his hands.

 

“Tails.” He said. “Nicholas Sparks it is.”

 

The two of them walked into the theatre and looked at the line. It was pretty busy.

 

“Let’s split up. I’ll get the popcorn and you get the tickets?” Erin suggested. “I’ll meet you by the bar.” Jay nodded and took his place in the line. He watched as Erin got in line at the concession stand before taking out his phone and dialing Ruzek’s number.

 

“Yo.”

 

“We’re at the theatre on 6th. The movie will probably be done around 10.”

 

“Alright, I’ll let patrol know to be parked up before then. Everything good there?” Ruzek asked.

 

“Yeah, it’s busy here. Lots of people around.” Jay gave another glance around the theatre. Erin’s line at the concession stand was moving slightly faster than his.

 

“Alright, man. Make sure you keep your guard up though.” Ruzek advised. “And don’t make out!”

 

“Ha ha” Jay replied dryly. “I’ll check in with you when we’re about to leave.”

 

Jay finally made it to the front of the line. He had seen Erin with the popcorn and drinks waiting by the bar. He paid for the tickets and went to find Erin.

 

He didn’t spot her immediately but then caught sight of her caught between the wall and a burly guy dressed in dark clothes. She didn’t look like she was very happy. The guy grabbed Erin’s arm and Jay ran.

 

“Hey!” He grabbed the guy by the shoulder and pulled him away from Erin. He stood between the two of them and shoved the guy backwards. “What do you think you’re doing?”

 

The guy looked in his mid-thirties and had a bird tattoo peeking out of his collar. He was a good eight inches taller than Jay, but Jay kept his eyes set on him. The guy grunted and left the theatre quickly. Jay started after him but Erin placed a hand on his arm and urged him back.

 

“Jason, don’t.” She said urgently. Jay looked back at her. Some popcorn had spilled on the floor and Jay’s shoe crunched under it.

 

“Are you okay?” Jay looked her over, searching for any sign of injury. “I’m going to go after him.” He started to move again but Erin pulled him back.

 

“Forget about it.” She pleaded. “I’m okay.”

 

“Erin, he was harassing you.” Jay told her. “Who is he? Do you know who he is?”

 

“I have no idea. He just came up to me and grabbed my arm.” She shrugged and Jay bristled inside.

 

“He might still be outside.” Jay was desperate to get outside and follow him or – at the very least – get patrol in pursuit. If this was someone connected to the case, he could prove a valuable lead.

 

“Look, it was nobody. Just some idiot who thought I bumped into him.” Erin said. Jay eyed her suspiciously.

 

“I thought you said-”

 

“I’m fine.” She said firmly. “No harm done. He probably just had a couple too many drinks. It’s no big deal.”

 

“Erin…” Jay sighed. Erin looked back at him; clearly this was something she wanted him to leave alone.

 

He didn’t think the same way, but to push the issue may mean pushing Erin away so he simply nodded and put an arm around her shoulders.

 

“Okay. Let’s just go take our seats.” He said. Erin seemed to be relieved that Jay had dropped the matter.

 

They walked into the screen and took their seats. Jay made an extra careful survey of the people around them and waited an agonizing two minutes before telling Erin he had to run to the bathroom.

 

When he made it out of the lobby, he dialed Ruzek’s number.

 

“You’re telling us now?” Ruzek’s voice came through the phone after receiving Jay’s description.

 

“She didn’t want me to go after him and this was the first chance I had to get away. I had to keep my cover intact.” Jay looked around the street. There was no sign of the guy at all. It had been too long.

  
“Fine. I’ll put out a description for the patrols and I’ll look through known associates.” Ruzek sighed on the other end. “You gonna be good? I can get Atwater or Roman or someone to join you guys in the theatre for back up. Voight might prefer it.”

 

“You can’t tell Voight.” Jay told him.

 

“I can’t tell Voight?” Jay could practically see Ruzek rolling his eyes. “Sorry, bro, I gotta tell him. Someone making good on that threat on Erin is something we should be worrying about.”

 

“Look, I don’t even know if it’s someone even involved. Erin said it was someone she didn’t know and told me she bumped into him and he got aggressive.” Jay didn’t know why he was trying so hard to prevent Voight from knowing. He knew (rationally) that Voight should know, but he was worried that if Voight knew they were at the movies together, he might get the wrong impression about their relationship.

 

“Halstead, I have no idea what you’re trying to pull.” There was a pause. “Look, I’ll keep it from Voight as long as I can. But if he is one of the guys rolling in this gang or someone on patrol pulls him in, then I’m telling him. And if Voight asks, I’m gonna be honest.” Ruzek told him.

 

“Okay, fine.” Jay glanced at his watch. It had been over five minutes already. “I better get back inside. Text me when you know something, okay?”

 

“Sure. I’m sending over a patrol car to park outside the theatre and follow you guys home. There’ll be an undercover patrol already at Erin’s place tonight.” Ruzek confirmed.

 

Jay took his seat next to Erin and noticed she’d been crying.

 

“Erin, hey,” Jay whispered. “You okay?”

 

Erin looked back at him, embarrassed and wiping frantically at her tears. “I’m sorry. I’m just…” she sighed. “There was this totally cute bank commercial with a kid and his dog.” Erin sniffed. “Urgh, I’m such a sucker for this stuff.”

 

Jay was relieved and he chuckled. “Nah, it’s cute.”

 

* * *

“That movie totally sucked.” Erin said as they walked out of the theatre. Jay blinked as a gust of cold air hit his face. Erin looked at him and pouted. “Aw, did you cry?” She asked.

 

“What? No, no.” Jay touched his face. “It’s just cold.”

 

Erin wasn’t convinced. “Oh yeah, it’s the ‘cold’,” she made air quotes with her fingers. “I’m _definitely_ sure you didn’t cry over that totally cheesy ending.”

 

Jay smiled. “You got me. I’m a sucker for a Taylor Swift song.” He held his chest, earning a laugh from Erin.

 

They walked down the block to where Jay was parked and he spotted the undercover car starting to follow behind them. Erin didn’t seem to notice.

 

“It is cold though.” Erin said. Despite it being February, she had only brought a light jacket and goosebumps were forming on her exposed neck. Jay took his scarf out of his bag and offered it to her. She wrapped it around her neck and took hold of Jay’s hand. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. That movie wasn’t too awful.”

 

“Hey, whose the crier now?” Jay teased. He tried to keep his voice steady but was all too aware of her warm hand in his.

 

“I didn’t _cry_! The ending was just pretty good. The rest of the movie was so cheesy. I mean, who even has choreographed dance scenes anymore?” She said with a roll of her eyes. “But the speech he gave at the end was just _so_ sweet. That’s all I’m saying.”

 

“Uh huh,” Jay said unconvinced as they reached his car. He opened the passenger door for her and helped her in. As he walked around to the driver’s side, he quickly glanced at his phone. He had three missed calls and four messages.

 

Jay drove to Erin’s place and parked up outside her apartment block. The car following them had driven past and carried on to the end of the street, but Jay saw the overnight patrol car parked on the other side of the road. He sighed in relief knowing that at least they could keep an eye on Erin during the night.

 

“So,” Erin said turning towards Jay. “This was fun.”

 

“Yeah, it was.” Jay agreed.

 

“Thanks for the ride.” She told him. One hand was on the door handle. The other hovered slightly over his knee, as if she was unsure if she wanted to take that step. Her hand finally found its way safely on her seat. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” She said.

 

“See you tomorrow.” Jay smiled back, keeping his expression as pleasant as possible.

 

He had seen how close her hand had been and he was equal parts relieved and disappointed. He didn’t want to show that he’d noticed. It had clearly been a difficult decision for her. He knew Olinsky was pushing him to keep an open mind about furthering their relationship if it was what Erin seemed to want, but Jay was afraid of Voight and he genuinely liked Erin. He couldn’t stand thinking about how hard it would be to explain to her that he was an undercover agent assigned to follow her. The last thing he wanted was to see her hurt.

 

Erin smiled back at him and exited the car. He watched as she began to walk towards the apartment block before he realized that he probably should walk her up to her apartment and make sure everything was safe. He quickly undid his seatbelt and jumped out of the car. The sound of the door opening and closing made Erin stop and look back.

 

“I should probably make sure you’re okay,” he told her as he caught up to her. He hoped that she wouldn’t fight him on that.

 

“Okay,” she told him as they walked the short distance up to the apartment block.

 

The lobby was empty, fortunately, but Jay decided to take the lift and walk her to her door just in case. Erin didn’t say anything about it, but slipped her hand in his anyway.

 

“I’m glad we did this,” Erin said sweetly. “I thought maybe I ruined things after Alison’s party.” She admitted.

 

“No, I’m glad we did this. It was fun.” Jay assured her by giving her hand a slight squeeze. They got to Erin’s front door and she gently pulled her hand away.

 

“Look, I know you said you wanted to be friends,” Erin started. “But I really like you and we have fun so… I don’t know. We don’t have to make anything official, but I’m up to have… more fun… if you, y’know, if you want to?” She said tentatively.

 

Jay felt bad. He liked her and, under other circumstances, he would have been the one to ask her out. But he couldn’t turn her down again. He knew what Olinsky had advised but he also knew what Voight had warned him about.

 

Jay realistically knew that if he turned Erin down _again_ – especially after they had technically gone on a date tonight – then it would be game over for this assignment. Besides, Erin had been harassed by some guy and that made the threat on her life real and something he couldn’t ignore. Voight would want even more to keep Erin safe now.

 

He was doing this for the assignment.

 

Right?

 

“Sure, I’d like that.” He told her sincerely. A grin broke out over her face and she sighed.

 

“Okay, great. Because I was kinda scared you’d turn me down again,” she bumped her shoulder playfully against his. “Um, you wanna come in?” She motioned to her door.

 

Jay’s phone started ringing before he could answer. He looked at the name and saw Atwater was calling him.

 

“Uh, it’s my mom,” he apologized. “I really should take this.”

 

Erin’s smile dropped for a moment before she brightened again and nodded. She reached up and snaked a hand around his neck, pulling him down for a brief kiss on the lips. It was too quick to be anything significant but Jay gulped anyway. Her lips tasted sweetly salty, like popcorn.

 

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” She told him sincerely. Erin opened her front door and gave him a small wave before disappearing inside.

 

“Hi mom,” he said into the phone as he accepted the call and started walking away from Erin’s place.

 

“Hey, honey.” He heard Kevin’s deep voice respond. “I take it you’re still with Erin? I can call back.”

 

“It’s okay, I’m leaving now. She’s back in her apartment.” Jay replied. “I couldn’t check my phone until now. What happened with the guy? You find him?”

 

“Yeah, one of the patrol cars saw him in a gas station by the theatre. He’s in our custody now but we need an ID. We sent you the mug shot. You think you can identify him?” Atwater said.

 

“Ok, hold on. I’ll check my phone and call you back.” Jay said. He paused briefly on the stairway and opened a few of the messages he had received while out with Erin.

 

Jay studied the image in the mugshot and squinted. He looked at it for a few more moments before sighing and calling Kevin back.

 

“Kev, it’s me. That’s not the guy.” Jay rubbed his eye. “Dammit.”

 

“Don’t worry, man. Look, there’s no-one else here and I’m getting ready to leave. You want to grab a beer at Molly’s?” He asked. Jay wasn’t really in the mood to go out for drinks knowing they hadn’t caught the guy who had harassed Erin.

 

But he’d had a great night otherwise and he was now sort of dating Erin so he was also too buzzed to go straight home (though he would never be able to tell Kevin that). He licked his lips and the taste of salt lingered on his tongue.

 

“I’ll be there in a few.” Jay told him.

 

* * *

Kevin was sitting with Olinsky when he got to Molly’s.

 

“Sorry about not catching your guy, Jay,” Kevin said. “I’ll buy you a beer to make up for it.” Atwater disappeared towards the bar, leaving Jay and Olinsky alone.

 

“You okay?” Alvin asked as he drained the remainder of his beer. Jay nodded.

 

“Long day.” Jay replied, helping himself to a handful of the peanuts that were on the table. He hoped they hadn’t been there long.

 

“How are things with the mark?” Olinsky asked. Jay glanced behind him to check if Kevin was still at the bar. Kevin was busy making the bartender laugh.

 

“Don’t call her that,” Jay said. “Things are fine. I’ll be better once we find out what that guy wanted though.”

 

“You and me both.” Olinsky replied. “Look, uh, Erin called me today.”

 

Jay looked up at Olinsky in surprise. “She did? When?”

 

“Earlier today. Before the movies, I think. A few hours ago at least.” Alvin shuffled forward a little, leaning in towards Jay. “She wanted me to run a background check on you.”

 

“What? Why?” Jay’s heart started racing. Had he been made?

 

“It was fine,” Olinsky assured. “I told her everything that we discussed in your cover story. There was nothing there you wouldn’t have already known.”

 

“Why would she call you?” Jay asked.

 

“Erin may want to distance herself from her father’s protection but she’s learned a thing or two from him. She’s asked me before to run a check on guys she’s been dating – just to be sure. It’s better she does it ahead of Voight because he’ll do one eventually. It helps her make better decisions.” Alvin said. “Besides, I’d do it anyway. I’ve known her forever; I want to make sure she’s not getting into anything she can’t get out of.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jay frowned. Alvin shrugged.

 

“Nothing. All I’m saying is that she only does it when she likes someone and wants to spend more time with them. It’s a perk of having police contacts. I wouldn’t be surprised if she asked you out again.”

 

Jay scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, actually, she did.”

 

Alvin raised his eyebrows. “And?”

 

“And I took your advice. I said ‘yes’.” Jay cleared his throat and glanced back at Atwater again, who was still at the bar.

 

“Good.” Alvin replied.

 

“Is it?” Jay shrugged. “I’m not entirely comfortable with it. Erin’s a nice girl and everything but I-”

 

“You like her.” Alvin finished off. Jay’s mouth fell open and he tried to backtrack. “It’s written all over your face.”

 

“She’s a great person. I don’t want to hurt her.” Jay bit back. He was only doing what Olinsky suggested in the first place.

 

“You won’t.” Alvin said. “You’re a good guy. We’ll make sure it doesn’t go too far. We’ll work hard to bring these guys down. Once this threat goes away, then there’s no problem.”

 

“What about Voight? If he finds out-”

 

“We’ll cross that bridge when it comes to it.” Alvin assured again. “Trust me.”

 

“I’m trying-” Jay was cut off by Kevin’s return. He thanked his friend for the drink and took a long, welcome chug.

 

“So…” Atwater said, settling into his seat. “What did I miss?”


	7. Chapter 7

Atwater chuckled as he walked into the bullpen and saw the sight in front of him. Jay’s feet were up on his desk, his arms across his chest, and his head rolled back with his mouth hanging open. Kevin pulled a fresh post-it free from his notepad and scrunched it into a small ball. Taking careful aim, he tossed it lightly through the air.

 

It sailed easily into its target. Jay’s light snores suddenly transformed into loud, hacking coughs. He sat up in his chair and forced the offending object out of his mouth. He looked up at Kevin who had his fists raised in victory.

 

“You trying to kill me, Kev?” Jay coughed again.

 

“That’s ten points to me!” Atwater declared happily, though he was a little disappointed that neither Antonio nor Ruzek were there to witness it. He strode over to Ruzek’s desk and wrote ‘10’ in huge letters under his name. “You gotta vouch for me though. You _know_ it happened!”

 

Jay was fast becoming tired of Jay Ball but he was slightly impressed that someone finally got it into his mouth. Hopefully it meant the end of the game.

 

“What are you doing here so early anyway?” Atwater asked. Jay held up his textbook. He had come in early to catch up on the case and maybe try to get a few hours of studying before meeting Erin.

 

“Midterm next week.” Jay sighed. “Did Ruzek find out if I actually have to take this?”

 

Atwater shrugged. “Well, you’re studying with Erin, right? At least you get to keep your cover. You must be running out of reasons to hang out with her without looking like a stalker.”

 

Jay shrugged. He was already feeling uneasy about agreeing to date Erin but at least he had Olinsky to guide him through it. However, it wasn’t something he really wanted to tell the others about just in case it somehow got back to Voight.

 

Just because Olinsky gave him the go-ahead didn’t mean it would be something Voight would also accept.

 

“I’m doing okay.” Jay replied as he looked back at his textbook. “I don’t know how I’m going to learn all this stuff.”

 

Voight’s footsteps lumbered up the stairs. He barely glanced their way as he walked straight into his office. The door slammed shut. Jay and Atwater shared a look and Jay picked his feet off his desk and sat up straight. He pulled some case files out and arranged them on top of his textbook so he could covertly continue studying.

 

Voight’s office door reopened a few moments later.

 

“Halstead. My office. Now.” He demanded before his head disappeared back into his office. Jay glanced at Atwater as he got up from his desk, hoping that Voight didn’t want another assignment update. What if he’d heard Erin had asked him out? He gulped as he walked towards the door and knocked lightly.

 

“Shut the door,” Voight instructed him and motioned to the empty chair in front of Jay. “Sit.”

 

Jay did as he was told and tried to gauge Voight’s mood as best he could. Voight’s demeanor was no more aggressive than it usually was. He looked troubled but this case had them all on tenterhooks. Jay could sense that the rest of the team were also getting frustrated at not having more leads to break open the case. The sooner they could make headway on the case, the sooner Jay could get back to his real life.

 

“I need you to get Erin’s phone for me.” Voight told him. “I want to install a tracker on it.”

 

Jay frowned. “Sir?”

 

Voight sighed and leant forward. “I want to track her phone so that if anything happens to her, we can find her. Olinsky is working on the paperwork right now but I want this done quickly and without her knowledge.”

 

“Of course.” Jay nodded. He was uncomfortable with violating her privacy this way but he couldn’t disagree with Voight’s reasoning. After the guy from the cinema the night before, Jay also would like to make sure they could get to her if anything _did_ happen.

 

“We’ve got unmarked patrols following her but we can’t use them for longer than two weeks. We’ll still use them when we need to, but Commander Fischer is starting to get concerned about resources.” Voight’s eyes rolled slightly. “So we’re doing this.”

 

It was clearly something Jay wasn’t going to be able to argue against.

 

“Okay.” Jay nodded. “What do you need me to do?”

 

“We need her phone for about a half hour. According to Mouse, they can install it in twenty minutes. Ruzek’s in charge of this. Are you meeting Erin today?”

 

Jay looked at his watch. “Yeah, we’re meeting at noon. We’re studying for midterms.” He wasn’t sure if Voight needed to know that but he figured that at least he could assure him that Erin took her studies seriously.

 

“Good. Arrange it with Ruzek.” Voight replied and looked at the files in front of him, signaling to Jay that their meeting was now over.

 

Jay walked out of the office to find Antonio had arrived.

 

“Yo, Halstead, tell Antonio I got ten points in Jay Ball!” Atwater was pointing a finger at him, eyes wide and pleading Jay to confirm his victory.

 

Antonio rolled his eyes. “There’s no way-”

 

Jay shrugged. “Sorry, man, he got the ten points.” Atwater laughed victoriously and Antonio found himself pouting as he realized he was now trailing behind Ruzek and Atwater in their game.

 

“Speaking of games… look what Platt gave to me this morning!” Antonio held up a flyer in his hand and grinned at them.

 

“The Police Picnic?” Jay read the flyer. “What’s that?”

 

“Every year there’s a picnic just for the 21st District. It’s a bonding thing. We play games, have competitions and there’s a whole bunch of food. We’re allowed to bring family too.” Atwater explained. “You gotta be on our softball team. This unit always wins.”

 

“That sounds awesome.” Jay looked at all the events listed on the flyer. “Wow, there’s a dunk tank?”

 

“Yeah, last year Platt got Commander Fischer. He was so mad.” Antonio laughed. “It’s next Sunday so hopefully you’ll be off the case by then.” Antonio nudged Jay in encouragement. “I’m sure of it.”

 

* * *

 

“Do you want a beer?” Erin asked as she held a bottle towards him. Jay took it with a grateful nod. It was barely past 1pm but they had been studying for a while and he figured he’d need all the help he could to try and pass the time.

 

Erin settled next to him on the floor, taking a swig from her own bottle. “Man, why did I ever pick this class?”

 

Jay chuckled. “Right? You see one temple… you’ve seen them all.” He sighed heavily and looked at his textbook studiously. He saw Erin’s hand creep across the page and close his book. He turned to find her pressed up against him with a mischievous grin on her face.

 

“I think we’ve earned ourselves a little break.” She raised an eyebrow. Jay chuckled nervously.

 

“It’s not even been forty minutes,” he tried to open the book but her hand grasped it close firmly.

 

“We can study laaaaater,” she sang as she pulled the textbook free from his hands and placed it on the table in front of them. “This is like our second date. I don’t want to spend it studying.”

 

Jay looked at her and smiled. “Well we have to do _some_ studying. I need to pass this class.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll tutor you privately.” Erin pressed her face against his neck, peppering small kisses along it. “Hang out with me instead.”

 

Jay knew what he had agreed with Olinsky but as attractive as he found Erin, he was still uneasy furthering their relationship under false pretenses. He enjoyed her company and she was funny, smart and someone he would immediately ask out if they had met under different circumstances. He had reluctantly agreed to date her to save the case but saying ‘yes’ seemed harmless compared to following through on any physical aspects of what that entailed.

 

She had kissed him the night before as they said goodbye, but it had been a quick peck on the lips and Jay had barely time to process it. Now they were alone together and it seemed like Erin was more interested in him than studying.

 

Not that those similar thoughts hadn’t crept into his mind since last night, but how could he face Voight knowing that he had broken one of the rules that he’d been set when he had been assigned this? Olinsky was the one who had pushed him to further the relationship in order to save the assignment. Jay knew (or hoped, rather) that Olinsky wouldn’t rat him out to Voight.

 

Erin’s nose was cold against his skin and it felt ticklish on his neck. He chuckled slightly as he ducked out of the way.

 

“Come on, Erin, let’s at least finish this chapter.” He prompted. Erin stuck her bottom lip out in a pout and sighed.

 

“Ok, Poindexter,” she teased as she picked up her own textbook.

 

She shifted from the floor and onto the couch, leaving her phone on the floor. Jay spied it and remembered his instructions from Voight. He shifted towards the phone and pulled it towards him. He pressed the buttons to ensure that it was on silent mode and slipped it into his pocket.

 

“Hey, do you want to order in a pizza?” Jay suggested. He looked up at Erin.

 

“Yeah, that sounds good.” Erin agreed. She looked around for her phone. “Weird, I thought my phone was here.”

 

Jay made a show of trying to help her look for her phone. “Maybe it’s in the kitchen? I could call for pizza while you look.”

 

Erin nodded and disappeared into the kitchen as Jay pulled out his phone and dialed Ruzek’s number.

 

“I got the phone but I can’t bring it to you.” Jay whispered. He glanced behind him to see where Erin was. He spotted her still looking in her kitchen.

 

“I can be there in five minutes. I’ll bring Mouse with me so we can try and do it outside her apartment block.”

 

“It can be done in twenty minutes, right?”

 

“Yeah, Mouse is sure about that.” Ruzek agreed. Jay thought for a moment about how best to play this.

 

“Okay, get outside her living room window. It’s the third one from the left. Text me when you’re there and I’ll make the drop.” Jay said. “And when it’s ready, just knock on the door.”

 

“The door?” Ruzek replied.

 

“I’ll make sure I’ll be the one to open it.” He assured. “Oh, and bring a pepperoni pizza with you.” He instructed before hanging up.

 

“I can’t find it anywhere,” Erin sighed as she returned to the living room. She looked under the couch. “Have you seen it?”

 

“No, not since I came in.” He pretended to think.

 

“Did you call for pizza?” Erin asked. “I heard you talking on the phone.”

 

“Yeah, they’ll be here in thirty.” Jay nodded.

 

“Great. Can you call my phone? I don’t think I left it on silent.”

 

Jay nodded and pulled out his phone. He dialed her number and placed his other hand casually in his pocket, making sure it covered the screen of her phone in case the screen glowed through his clothing.

 

Erin listened intently but couldn’t hear anything other than her own voicemail recording playing through Jay’s phone. She sighed heavily.  

 

“Okay, so maybe I left it on silent.” She shrugged.

 

“It’ll turn up.” Jay assured. He managed to get Erin to forget her phone for a while and settle back into studying.

 

A few minutes later, he received a text from Ruzek.

 

_Outside the window._

 

“Erin, mind if I open a window?” Jay asked. “Get us some fresh air to get the brain rolling?” Erin nodded and Jay pulled himself up. He spotted Ruzek loitering outside the window and unclasped the lock. He looked behind him to check Erin wasn’t watching as he pulled out Erin’s phone and threw it down to Ruzek. He caught it – barely. Jay reminded himself not to pick Ruzek for the district softball team.

Jay returned to his seat and Erin gave him a nudge with her elbow. “I’m getting bored,” she complained. “Can we stop?”

 

Jay chuckled and put his textbook down. “Sure! You wanna watch something on TV?” He asked. He was sure there was a movie or something they could watch instead of looking at temple plans all day. His eyes were blurring from highlighting notes (he was mostly just highlighting random stuff that looked important. He had no idea what he was actually reading).

 

Erin shrugged. “We could watch something on TV or we could go and have some fun somewhere…” her eyes flicked to her bedroom. Jay either didn’t notice it or was ignoring it.

 

“We can’t go out. The pizza is gonna get here soon.” He reminded her.

“Jason, I’ve never had to try so hard to get a guy to kiss me,” Erin teased. She offered up a small smile but Jay could tell she was pretty hurt about his lack of reciprocation.

 

“It’s not that I don’t find you attractive. I mean… you’re gorgeous,” he assured. “I just think we should go on a real date. Studying for midterms or a terrible movie doesn’t count. Tomorrow night I’ll take you to a restaurant – a _nice_ one – and we’ll have some wine and talk properly. The only real thing we’ve talked about is Greek architecture, and I don’t know about you, but that’s not super interesting.” Jay smiled. Erin could feel the grin growing on her face and she blushed.

 

“I guess I can’t argue with that.” She said. “Besides, you’re probably right. I don’t really know the real you; you could be some weird stalker guy who just wants to ace his midterms!” she poked him in the side of the stomach.

 

Jay cleared his throat and laughed nervously. “Speaking of midterms… maybe we should get back to a little studying? Try and pass this class?” He picked up his textbook again in an effort to move the conversation away from their relationship.

 

A knock at the front door some time later made Jay jump. He spotted Erin begin to pull herself up from the couch and he scrambled to get to the door first.

 

“I’ve got it!” he called. “It’s just the pizza. I’ve got the money.” He waved a hand in Erin’s direction, willing her to sit back down on the couch. He opened the door slowly and saw Mouse standing there nervously with a pizza in his hand.

 

“Hey,” Mouse gave him a smile and spoke in a hushed whisper. “Ruzek thought Erin might recognize him if he came to the door.”

 

“$14? Yes, I have the money here!” Jay said a little louder than necessary. He fumbled as he thumbed through his wallet for money. He only had $3 and his bank cards. With an apologetic shrug, he hurriedly handed Mouse the $3 and dime that he managed to find in his pocket.

 

“And here is your change!” Mouse replied in a similar tone to Jay’s. Mouse passed over the pizza and then slipped Erin’s phone back to Jay. He then awkwardly stepped backwards and gave Jay a quick wave goodbye before rushing down the stairs, clutching the money in his hands.

 

Jay closed the door and looked around his surroundings. He spotted a space between Erin’s end table by the front door and thought of an opportunity. He bent down and threw Erin’s phone lightly in the empty space.

 

“Got the pizza?” Erin asked as she came towards the front door. “I have napkins and plates in the living room. What are you doing?” She asked as she saw Jay bent over at a strange angle.

 

“Is that your phone there?” He pointed towards the space where he’d placed Erin’s phone. She followed his gaze and her eyes widened.

 

“Yes!” She cried as she crawled forward to pick it up. “I can’t believe you found it! I thought it was gone.”

 

“No problem,” Jay said as Erin gave him a tight hug and kissed his cheek.   


“Wow, I don’t even know how it got here. It must have fallen off the table somehow. That’s so weird.” She sighed happily as she turned her phone on.

 

Jay held his breath. He wasn’t sure exactly what Mouse had installed or if it’d be something that Erin would notice immediately. Instead her phone lit up as normal and she walked back towards the living room satisfied. Jay followed a few steps behind and let relief flood his senses. He had been tense the whole time at Erin’s. Between Erin wanting to make out with him and having to co-ordinate the phone switch, he had been waiting for the other shoe to fall. He was sure that something would have gone wrong and Erin would have caught him in a lie.

 

“Jason, what’s taking so long?” Erin’s voice called. “I’m hungry!”

 

Jay went back to the living room and settled down next to Erin. He was halfway through his first slice of pizza when his phone buzzed with a text message from Ruzek.

 

_You owe me $11.57_.

 

* * *

 

Jay walked down the side street towards his own apartment. He had spent most of the afternoon studying with Erin and he was looking forward to getting back home and spending some time to himself.

 

His phone buzzed and he glanced down to read the message. As he did, his shoulders bumped into the person’s walking in the opposite direction.

 

“Sorry, man,” Jay said, turning back to apologize. He was met with a familiar face and a bird tattooed on his neck.

 

The guy from the movies.

 

Jay forgot about the message he was reading and stopped.

 

“Hey!” He called. The guy carried on walking.

 

Jay followed behind him.

 

“Hey! Stop!”

 

The guy sped up before breaking into a run. Jay followed in pursuit, his phone clutched tightly in his hand as he chased the tattooed guy down a block…two blocks… three blocks.

 

The guy disappeared down a dark alley and Jay ran as fast as he could. He looked around the empty alley, seeing only two dumpsters and a building. Jay didn’t have his gun. He couldn’t take a gun to his meetings with Erin, but he did have his phone. He pulled his phone out and dialed Antonio’s number.

 

The phone connected and Jay vaguely heard a noise behind him before everything went dark. 


	8. Chapter 8

Jay’s eyes blinked open slowly and he winced as they struggled to adjust to the light. His jaw was stiff and it hurt to open wider than a few centimeters.

 

“Ugh.” He groaned out as he tried to sit himself up. There was a burning pain in his arm and he had a pounding headache.

 

“Hey, hey, lie back. You okay?” Jay heard Ruzek’s voice before he saw him.

 

“The light-” Jay pointed up and after a few moments the light dimmed. Jay felt some tension immediately release from his head. “What happened?” he asked in a whisper.

 

“You got beat up.” Ruzek explained. “You were still on the phone to Antonio so Mouse pinged your phone.”

 

“Did you get him?”

 

“Nah, they were gone in the wind by the time we got there.” Ruzek looked Jay over. “Man, you look rough.”

 

“Nice, dude.” Jay tried to laugh but his ribs hurt too much. “Do you have some water?”

 

“Yeah, but you’re gonna have to sit up. You hurt your hand so I’ll help you.” Ruzek said as he placed his hands gingerly under Jay’s arms and pulled him into a sitting position, taking care to avoid touching Jay’s injured hand. Jay cried out in pain and Ruzek winced. “Sorry. You got it pretty bad.”

 

“Where am I?” Jay asked.

 

“Chicago Med. We brought you in. I’m taking you back home when the docs let you go.” Ruzek explained. “You remember anything about the guy?”

 

“He was the same one from the movie theater. He got away _again_.” Jay growled.

 

“We’ll get him. Now we know he has a connection to the case. There’s no way he would target you and Erin randomly within 24 hours.” Ruzek put a straw in a cup of water and held it towards Jay.

 

“I can get this,” Jay said as he attempted to move his arm towards the cup. Pain shot through his shoulder and he winced. Ruzek looked back at him with raised eyebrows and, after a moment, held the cup in front of Jay’s mouth again. Jay took a sip from the cup and thanked Ruzek.

 

A shadow appeared at the door and the doctor appeared.

 

“How are you doing, Mr Halstead?” He asked as he flipped through the chart.

 

“I’m okay. Can I go home?” Jay asked.

 

“Not yet. You hit your head pretty hard but we think you’ll be fine.” He pointed towards Jay’s bandaged hand. “There’s a hairline fracture on your hand. Don’t put too much pressure on it and it should heal up within a couple of weeks or so. I’m going to come and check on you in half an hour and then we’ll talk about discharging you.” The doctor left and Jay sighed.

 

“Guess I’m out of the district softball team,” he frowned. Ruzek shook his head.

 

“We’ll work it out. There’s no way we’re giving up our rightful place as kings of softball.” He said in determination. “I’ll stay with you until you get discharged and drive you to your place.”

 

“Thanks, man.” Jay said gratefully.

 

* * *

_Burgess is cooking like three lasagnas for you. Sorry dude!_

 

Jay looked at the new message from Ruzek and the accompanying photo of Burgess with a huge pile of chopped vegetables.

 

When Burgess heard what had happened to Jay, she had insisted on helping whatever way she could. Jay tried to explain that the doctor had given him the all clear and it looked worse than it was, but she had been determined to at least do _something_.

Jay chuckled and started typing a message out. Before he could send it, Erin’s name flashed on his screen and he suddenly remembered he had made a date with her for later that evening. He considered letting the call go to voicemail, but he had an intense desire to hear her voice.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Hey!” He could hear that she was out of breath and he remembered that it was a gym day for her. “Ready for tonight?” She asked. “Do you like Lebanese food? I just remembered a nice place on 5th.”

 

“Hmmm, aren’t I meant to be the one picking the restaurant?” Jay teased. “ _I_ asked _you_ out.”

 

“As I recall, I asked _you_ out a couple of times and you turned me down,” she replied. Jay could feel her smiling through the phone. “So I get to pick the place. We can meet there at eight?”

 

“That sounds good.” He glanced down at his hand in the sling. “Look, uh, do you think you could pick me up? I can’t drive.”

 

“What happened to your car?” Erin asked.

 

“It’s not my car. I kind of fractured my hand.” Jay admitted.

 

“What? How?”

 

“It’s a long story,” Jay said. He hadn’t really thought about how he’d explain his injuries to her. He couldn’t tell her that it was the guy from the movies, especially as the unit was already tracking him down. “I tripped over my coffee table last night when I got home.”

 

“You should have called!” Erin said. “Are you okay?”

 

“I have a sling but that’s all. I just can’t drive until it heals up.” He explained. That part was true at least. “I’m also on a few painkillers so I’m pretty sleepy.”

 

“Ok, I’ll come pick you up at eight.” She said. “Do you want me to come over and help you out?”

 

“Nah, it’s okay. You’ve got to study for that midterm, right? You should do that. I’ll see you after.” Jay insisted. He figured that Erin spending a few hours at home would be safer than her making her way to his apartment in a rush. “I’ll text you my address later.”

 

* * *

Jay woke up to the sound of someone knocking at his door. He glanced at his phone and saw that it was already 8:09. He sat up as fast as he could and shuffled towards the door, trying to fight the lingering effects of his painkillers. The lights were off in his apartment but he pretty much could navigate his way in the dark.

 

His knee hit the back of the couch.

 

Okay, maybe not totally.

 

He groggily opened the door to find Erin standing there with two bags in her hand.

 

“It’s about time,” she said as Jay stepped aside to let her in. “Wow, it’s dark in here.”

 

Jay fumbled with the light switch and then squinted as his apartment flooded with light.

 

“That’s bet-ohhhh,” Erin’s face contorted in concern as she saw the bruises marring Jay’s face. “What the hell?” She put the bags in her hand on the coffee table and turned back to Jay. “What happened?”

 

Jay was still trying to get used to the change in light and he was still groggy from the pills he’d taken to reply coherently. He could see Erin taking her coat off as he tried to rub sleep out from his eyes. The smell of food woke him up a little more.

 

“I slipped in the bathroom,” he explained. Erin placed her hands on her hips.

 

“I thought you tripped over the coffee table?” She cocked her head towards the table in front of him. “It must have been a bad fall if you hurt your hand _and_ gave yourself a black eye.” She winced as she studied his face. “Do you want to tell me what really happened? You were fine when you left my place last night.”

 

Jay sighed. “I got mugged.” He replied.

  
“What?!” Erin’s eyes widened in shock and then flashed with rage. “What happened? Did you call the police?”

 

“No, it’s fine.”

 

“No, it’s not!” She grabbed her phone. “I’m going to call my dad and-”

 

“Erin, don’t. It’s fine.”

 

“Jay, you are clearly not fine. Why didn’t you call me?”

 

“I didn’t want to worry you. He stole my wallet; it had like thirty bucks in it. It’s fine.”

 

“Stop saying you’re fine!” Erin snapped. “How could you not tell me? Do you know who did it?”

 

“No,” Jay lied. “I got knocked out.” He saw the look of horror on Erin’s face. “It’s okay. Someone found me. I woke up in Chicago Med and called…” Jay paused. What name had he given Erin when introducing Roman and Burgess to her? Was one Connor? Callum? Colin? Colin sounded familiar. “I called Colin and he brought me home.”

 

“And you’re really okay?” Erin asked before adding softly, “you could have called me.”

 

“I know, but I just was embarrassed.”

 

“You don’t need to be embarrassed, Jason.” She placed a hand on his good shoulder. “God, I’m so sorry. I’m glad I brought food with me. We can stay in.”

 

“I’m sorry. I know we were meant to go out tonight.” He apologized.

 

“Don’t worry about it.” She gestured towards the couch, forcing Jay to go and sit down. “I’ll go put this on plates and we’ll pick a movie and hang out.” She said as she took the bags into the kitchen.

 

“Do you need help with anything?” He asked sleepily. Sitting down made him sleepy again.

 

He heard Erin reply but he stifled a yawn and decided to close his eyes for just a few moments.

 

* * *

Jay woke up with a start when he heard something crash in the kitchen.

 

“Are you okay?” He called out; vaguely remembering someone else was in the house. His voice was hoarse and he coughed.

 

“It’s fine. Nothing broke!” Erin’s voice replied from the kitchen. She poked her head back in. “Go back to sleep.”

 

“How long was I out for?” He tried looking for his cellphone to check the time.

 

“About thirty minutes. You passed out by the time I came back so I already ate. I can reheat your dinner.” Erin appeared with a glass of water.

 

“Thanks,” Jay said as he took the glass from her. “This is probably not the best date you’ve ever been on.”

 

“Hey, I didn’t have anyone spill anything on me,” she grinned, “so I’ll still rate it in my top three.”

 

Jay smiled back; she had the ability to do that to him, despite the fact his jaw was still painful. “I’m sorry I’m not great company tonight. I understand if you want to go home.”

 

She shook her head. “I thought I’d stay for a while, if you don’t mind. I would rather stay with you – even if you’re all hopped up on painkillers.”

 

He laughed but then groaned slightly as his jaw began hurting again. Erin disappeared back into the kitchen but returned a few minutes later with a plate of hot food and some soda.

 

“So, you know a lot about me, but I don’t know much about you. Are you from Chicago?” She asked as Jay looked over the plate she’d brought. He’d never had had Lebanese food before but it all smelled great even if he wasn’t quite sure what it was.

 

“Close. About forty minutes out but my parents brought me and my brother to the city a lot.” He explained. It was mostly true. He had actually spent his middle school years in Wisconsin before his parents moved to Illinois.

 

“You have a brother?” Erin brightened. “What’s his name?”

 

“Will,” Jay said automatically before he realized he probably should have lied about the name. Well, he decided, it’s not like she’d ask his brother questions about him. This case would be over way before anything serious could happen.

 

“Does Will live in Chicago too?” She asked.

 

“No, he’s in New York. He’s studying to be a doctor. He’s the smartest one in the family.” Jay smiled at the thought of his brother. That was true, his brother was in medical school at Columbia, and he was also the smartest person Jay knew.

 

“Wow, that’s awesome! Do you talk much?”

 

“Not as much as I should,” Jay replied with a shrug. “You know how it is when there’s a long distance.”

 

“Where are your parents? Are they still nearby?” Erin’s question, innocent and natural, hit Jay a little harder than he expected.

 

“Uh, no. My dad’s in Wisconsin to be near my grandfather, and my mom died when I was eighteen.”

 

Erin placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-”

 

“It’s okay. It was a while ago now.” Jay felt Erin squeeze his shoulder reassuringly. “Your mom died too, right?” He asked. Erin looked taken aback and Jay felt a surge of panic. Had she mentioned it before? Or was this something that he’d heard while at work?

 

Erin finally nodded. “Yeah, she died when I was fourteen. She got in a car accident with my brother Justin.”

 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that.” Jay regretted bringing it up. Since he had never heard Voight mention he had a son, he figured that Justin must have also died in the accident.

 

“It’s okay. Did your mom’s death bring you and your family together?” She asked.

 

Jay shrugged. “Kinda. She was sick for a while so we knew it was coming. It gave us time to prepare. My brother’s younger than me so I think he took it the worst. After my mom died, my grandfather needed some help so my dad left to move back to Wisconsin. I think he needed it. We sold the house and now we’re in three different states. But I talk to my dad a lot. He sounds like he’s doing alright. I think he needed to get out of Illinois.” Jay sighed. “How about you and your dad? How are you guys?”

 

Erin made a face. “We’re okay. He’s overprotective of me, but I think it’s because he’s a cop and we lost my mom and Justin. I wanted to go to college out of state but my dad wanted me to stay in Chicago. I don’t think he trusts me.” She fidgeted with the tassel on one of the cushions Jay inherited from his grandmother.

 

“He’s just scared of losing you too.” Jay sympathized.

 

“I know,” she nodded, “but sometimes I wish he’d just remember that he doesn’t have to be a cop _all_ the time.” Erin shrugged and let out a deep sigh. “Maybe we should pick a movie?” She suggested, plastering a smile on her face and diverting the conversation from sadder memories.

 

“That sounds like a good idea.” Jay said. He let Erin choose something while he finished his dinner and took his evening dose of painkillers.

 

It was four in the morning when Jay woke up; his neck was resting at an awkward angle and he felt pain shooting through his injured rib. The lampshade and TV were still on, but the volume of the TV had been turned low. The movie that they had been watching was long over.

 

He glanced to his left and saw Erin curled up on the other end of the couch, one foot resting on his leg. Jay smiled softly and reached for the remote to turn the TV off. He adjusted his position on the couch slightly so that he could use his good hand to reach the lampshade and turn that off too. He considered moving into his bedroom and sleeping on the bed, but he didn’t want to leave Erin on the couch on her own, and he didn’t want to wake her either.

 

He got up to stretch his legs and grab a blanket. He returned to the living room with a comforter and a blanket he’d also inherited from his grandmother. Jay draped one gently over Erin and the other over himself as he settled into the armchair across from the couch Erin was sleeping on.

 

Jay listened to Erin’s steady breathing, finding comfort in her presence and the sound of her light snores as he gently fell back asleep.

 

Maybe this was in his top three dates too.

 

* * *

“Jay, can I talk to you a sec?” Ruzek stood at the door of the break room. His jaw was clenched and his arms were crossed tightly over his chest.

 

“Uh, sure.” Jay slowly stood up from his desk and made his way to the break room. He’d never seen Ruzek so serious.

 

Jay stood awkwardly in the break room and wished that he had brought his mug so that he’d at least have had something to hold. Ruzek’s arms were still pressed firmly against his chest and Jay tucked his hands into his jean pockets.

 

“What’s up, man?” Jay kept his voice as steady as possible. This side of Ruzek was unknown to him.

 

“So Erin never went back to her apartment last night,” Ruzek began. Jay could feel the back of his neck getting warm. “Mouse and I tracked her whereabouts and I noticed that she went to your place around eight last night. It also showed that she didn’t leave until seven this morning. Is that true?”

 

Jay just nodded.

 

“Okay, you know that you can’t sleep with a mark when you’re undercover, right?” Ruzek said. Jay glanced quickly outside to make sure no-one else was around.

 

“Keep it down, Adam!” Jay hissed.

 

“Are you?!” Ruzek stepped forward, anger flashing in his eyes.

 

“No!” Jay took a step back to distance himself from Ruzek. He was scarier than he’d thought.

 

“Does Erin make it a habit of coming over to your place?” Ruzek asked. He seemed less angry, but still equally as suspicious. “Did you forget Voight put a tracker on her phone? If you think for one second Voight’s not going to jump to conclusions-”

 

“Look, she slept over but that’s it. Nothing happened. We’re… hanging out.” He reassured.

 

“You expect me to believe that? You expect _Voight_ to believe that?”

 

“You’re one to talk. You’re dating someone you work with.”

 

Ruzek shook his head. “I’m not pretending to be someone I’m not. Burgess isn’t Voight’s kid, and I’m not taking advantage of my position.”

 

“I’m not doing that either!” Jay insisted. “Look, I was going to lose the assignment. She was getting suspicious why I was following her all the time. She asked me out and I said no, she got distant. I was meant to spend as much time as I could with her and this was the only way!”

 

“There are other ways…”

 

“No, there weren’t! I talked to Olinsky about it and he told me to do it.”

 

“Olinsky told you to sleep with Voight’s daughter?”

 

“Ask him!”

 

“Oh, I will. But I bet he didn’t tell you that he slept with someone while undercover and now he’s got a sixteen year old daughter. He didn’t even know about her until last year. Just because Olinsky said it was okay, doesn’t make it okay. We have rules.”

 

“I know about the rules, Adam.”

  
“Do you? Because this is your first assignment in this unit, you’ve only been here for four months, and this is important to Voight. What do you think he’s going to think about the fact you did what he told you specifically _not_ to do?”

 

“I haven’t done anything! We haven’t slept together. I’m avoiding it as much as I can. Do you know how hard it is to come up with excuses not to have sex? I’m supposed to be a college student! I’m _this_ close to telling her I’m waiting for marriage. I had no other choice.” Jay sighed. “I know it’s wrong and I know that I’m going to get in a lot of trouble with Voight; but what else was I meant to do? Give up? I didn’t want to disappoint Voight. Not on my first assignment and not when it was to do with his daughter.”

 

“I think you’re forgetting something, Jay.” Ruzek said rubbing the bridge of his nose.

 

“What?”

 

“Erin. What are you going to tell her when this is all over? How do you think _she’s_ going to react? She clearly likes you. She wouldn’t have asked you out otherwise. Now she’ll find out the guy she thinks she’s dating is someone taking orders from her dad? That’s why Voight only wanted you to just be friends with her. It was going to be hard enough for Voight to justify sending someone in without her knowing, but now?” Ruzek let out a strained sigh. “It hurts less when there are no feelings involved.” He added gently.

 

“It’s not like I wanted to be in this situation,” Jay reminded him. “Everything got so complicated so quickly.”

 

Ruzek raked his hand through his hair.

 

“I’m not going to say anything to Voight, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He assured. “But I don’t know how to help you with this Erin situation. If you say you can handle it, then I believe you. The only thing I can do is try and track down these bad guys and then get you out of there before it all goes to crap.”

 

“Thanks, Ruzek,” Jay nodded gratefully.

 

“But just be careful. Don’t let your feelings get in the way and stop leading her on. It’s not fair.” Ruzek patted his shoulder and left the break room, leaving Jay alone.

 

* * *

“Hey, how was your day?” Erin asked Jay as he walked into her apartment. She was sitting on the floor in front of her coffee table with a notepad and three textbooks out in front of her. Earlier she had wanted to come over to his place but, after his conversation with Ruzek, Jay decided to play it safe and visit her instead.

 

“Not too bad,” he replied. He caught his reflection in the mirror in by Erin’s front door and checked the bruise on his cheek. “How was yours?”

 

“Eh,” Erin shrugged as she flicked through pages of one of her textbooks. “Do you mind if we stay in tonight? I want to hit the gym early tomorrow morning before my Criminal Procedure midterm.”

 

Jay nodded enthusiastically. Staying in was easier than constantly having to look over his shoulder and be wary of everyone around them while they were out. Besides, he was still pretty sleepy.

 

“I’ll come to the gym with you tomorrow,” Jay said. He was feeling a work out and, honestly, it meant he could spend more time with Erin.

 

 _Following Erin_ , he reminded himself. His job was to follow her, not spend time with her. After the case was over, he was going to go back to being Detective Halstead and she… well, she probably would never want to talk to him again.

 

Erin smirked back at him. “Does that mean you’re staying over?” She raised her eyebrows. Jay hadn’t thought about those implications.

 

Jay simply offered up a smile, deciding that he could stay for a while and make up an excuse before it got too late.

 

“Did you want to order some take out?” Jay switched the subject as his stomach grumbled. He was really feeling some Chinese food.

 

“That sounds good. I just need to finish the notes for this chapter,” Erin said. She pointed towards the kitchen table. “There’s some takeout menus over there.”

 

Jay walked over to the kitchen table and examined the pile of papers on top of it. “Any preference?” He asked as he flipped through them.

 

“Anything that isn’t from that Thai place on 12th Av. That gave Alison some really bad food poisoning,” she explained, not looking up from her notes.

 

Jay thumbed through the pile and picked out one or two menus. He glanced over the contents and made a face. There was nothing there that appealed to him. He spied some more papers poking out beneath a newspaper and pulled them out.

 

There were a few more take out menus, along with some course handouts, leaflets and a couple of bills. Behind one of the bills was another piece of paper tucked into it. Jay unfolded it to find a short handwritten note:

 

_Watch out bitch_

_U owe us_

Jay’s blood ran cold. He glanced at the date of the bill he found on top of it. It was dated three days ago.

 

He wondered what the best course of action would be. Did he take it back to the unit? Did he ask Erin?

 

“Did you find anything yet?” Erin’s voice called from the living room. She turned around and saw the look on his face. “You okay?”

 

“What’s this?” He asked as he held up the note.

 

“Oh, that’s nothing.” Erin pulled herself up from the floor and walked towards him. She went to take the note from his hands but he pulled it away from her.

 

“Erin, this is a threat.”

 

“It’s just a joke.”

 

“A joke?” Jay frowned. “Erin, you should take this seriously.”

 

“Why?” She folded her arms across her chest, looking a lot like Ruzek did earlier that day. “It doesn’t mean anything. My dad’s a cop; I get a lot of those.”

 

“Well, you’re not meant to. Does your dad know?” He asked.

 

“I don’t really like to bother-”

 

“Erin!” Jay groaned. “You know that this is a big deal. If you tell your dad, he could help. _I_ could help.”

 

“What are you going to do, Jason? It means nothing. I have no idea who sent it. It’s not even addressed to me. They probably wrote a bunch of these and pushed them under a ton of doors.” She countered. She grabbed the note from his hands and marched over to the trashcan. She screwed up the note and threw it inside.

 

“There,” she said with a sight bite in her tone. “It’s gone. It’s over.” She walked past Jay and pulled a menu from the pile on the counter. “I’ll call for some food.”

 

Jay stood in her kitchen and sighed heavily. He wished he had kept his mouth shut and taken it straight to the unit. He was sure they could figure out who was behind it. But Erin was clearly not in the same frame of mind he was.

 

He thought about taking the note out of the trash, but Erin walked back into the room looking over the menu in her hand.

 

“You want to share some noodles?” She asked. Her tone was softer than a few minutes before. Deciding it was better to keep the peace; Jay nodded and dropped the issue.

 

“Yeah, that sounds good.” He walked out of the kitchen and joined her in the living room. She looked up at him with a small, apologetic smile. He ducked his head down and kissed her softly on the lips. He felt her lips grow into a grin and she tucked her head in the crook of his neck.

 

“I’m glad you’re here tonight.” She said. “I don’t feel like being alone.”

 

He nodded. He didn’t want to leave her alone either.

 

* * *

“I’ll take the trash out,” Jay said later as he cleared the take out containers and took them towards the trashcan.

 

Erin was preparing to go to bed after having convinced Jay to stay over. He had purposefully kept them up later than originally planned so that she would be too tired to want to do anything other than sleep. He had to mentally prepare himself to act like an actual boyfriend and sleep next to her. They had spent the previous night sleeping on separate couches, but this time there would be no reason for Jay to sleep on the couch. Besides, his limbs were still recovering from his run-in with the guy from the movie theatre and a night spent sleeping in an armchair. Jay needed to sleep in a bed.

 

He opened the trashcan lid and saw the scrunched up note lying in the trash. He glanced up to check that Erin was still in her room and decided to take the opportunity. He plucked the paper out of the trashcan and placed it gingerly in the pocket of his hoodie before throwing the dirty food containers inside and pulling out the trash bag. Jay tied it up quickly and went to the hallway to throw the trash down the chute. 

 

He was going to make sure he found whoever was behind that note. 


	9. Chapter 9

Jay awoke with a stiff feeling in his bandaged hand. He slowly stretched his fingers out in an attempt to relieve some of the tension. Erin was sleeping soundly beside him. He glanced at the clock across from Erin and sighed quietly. It was barely three am; Jay hadn’t been asleep for long. Erin, on the other hand, had pretty much fallen asleep as soon as her head had hit the pillow.

 

Their disagreement over the note Erin had received hadn’t totally dissipated. Jay had agreed to drop the issue (in front of her, at least) and Erin hadn’t been in the mood to do anything other than sleep. Jay didn’t mind. It was preferable while the case was ongoing to avoid as much physical contact as possible. He’d made out with her a few times but he was really trying to make sure nothing progressed further than that. Everything had gotten far too complicated over the last couple of weeks.

 

This simple mission to befriend a potential victim had turned into a ridiculous tangle of lies and half-truths. Olinsky was telling him to get closer. Ruzek was warning him off Erin. Voight was basically telling him to get closer _and_ warning him off her. How was he meant to know what to do?

 

Not to mention the fact that Erin seemed to really like him and it had been a while since Jay had connected with someone so quickly. But Erin only really knew Jason Moore; a guy who didn’t exist and was made up of random facts that Olinsky had cobbled together.

 

Jay lay awake in the darkness, listening to Erin’s rhythmic breathing and trying to chase away the pain in his hand. Eventually he decided to get up for some water to take with his painkillers. He lifted himself out of the bed as slowly and quietly as he could and tiptoed to the kitchen. He turned on a light switch and looked for a glass.

 

Erin’s apartment was really nice for a student but he figured that Voight probably was paying for it. He would do anything to keep his only child safe. He didn’t know that much about their relationship but from the way Erin made it sound, they seemed to be relatively close. Jay hadn’t seen Erin around the precinct much since he’d started there but, from what he’d heard, it seemed like she was a frequent visitor.

 

Jay peered out of the window by the kitchen and looked for the unmarked police car that was tailing them. He spotted it and gave a small nod. He didn’t know the unit who were in the car but he was grateful for their presence. However, he wondered if they had to do reports and if Voight ever saw them. He wasn’t quite sure how Voight would react if he knew he was reported as having slept over at Erin’s.

 

He drained the last of his water and rinsed out the glass before turning out the kitchen light again and making his way back into Erin’s bedroom.

 

Erin was still asleep and Jay was extra careful not to wake her or put too much pressure on his injured hand as he climbed back into the bed.

 

He tried forcing his eyes shut and listening to Erin’s steady breathing as he willed sleep to come. A few minutes later, he was awoken by a soft movement beside him and a warm figure moving close to him. He opened an eye and peered down at Erin’s body pressed gently against his. Jay adjusted his good arm and placed it softly on Erin’s back.

 

He fell asleep with a small smile on his face.

 

* * *

“You look like you haven’t slept.” Dawson commented as Jay walked into the precinct.

 

“I bet he does.” Jay heard Ruzek mutter a little louder than necessary. Shooting Ruzek a look, Jay shrugged off Dawson’s comment and sat down at his desk.

 

“Is Voight in?” Jay asked, fighting the urge to yawn.

 

“He’s talking to Mouse.” Antonio replied. “Did you get anything last night?” He heard Antonio ask him.

 

Jay stared at Antonio in shock. “Did I get any?”

 

“Information,” Ruzek supplied. “Did you get any new information?”

 

Jay pulled out the bagged note he had taken from Erin’s apartment and showed the other two.

 

“Is this the only one?” Antonio asked.

 

“Erin said she’d gotten a few but this was the only one I saw in the apartment. She wanted me to get rid of it. She said it wasn’t a big deal.”

 

“It’s worth looking into. If she’s telling the truth and she’s getting these because it’s a joke, then it’s not a problem. But I’m willing to bet that whoever pushed this note under her door is connected to our case.” Antonio handed the note back to Halstead. “We’ll get this sent for fingerprinting once we show it to Voight.”

 

“Hey, you can’t go up there!” Sargent Platt’s voice rang up from below the stairs. Antonio, Adam and Jay all turned towards the staircase; Jay’s hand hovered over his holster in case he needed to use it.

 

“He’s expecting me!” Erin’s voice replied as they heard the gates shut and footsteps coming up the stairs. Ruzek grabbed Jay by his jacket and dragged him behind the filing cabinets where Olinsky’s desk was hidden.

 

“Stay down!” Ruzek hissed. Jay crouched on the floor and felt the soft thud of his bag hit him as Ruzek threw it off his desk and towards him. Jay saw Antonio flip the whiteboard over so that their current case was hidden. Ruzek stood in front of the filing cabinets to block Jay further from view.

 

“Hey guys!” Jay heard Erin greet the two men in the office. He saw a glimpse of her as Ruzek moved to give her a quick hug. “Is my dad here?”

 

“He’s in a meeting,” Ruzek pointed towards the closed office door.

 

“Okay, I’ll wait here.” Erin said. Jay heard the sound of a chair rolling out. “What’s been going on?”

 

Ruzek and Antonio muttered between each other and Erin let out a confused chuckle.

 

“Sorry I asked?” She said. “Hey, Ruzek, when am I going to meet this new girlfriend of yours? Uncle Al told me she’s an officer here?” Erin asked.

 

Jay’s mind flitted towards Burgess – or as Erin knew her – Felicity.

 

“Yeah, Kim. She’s out on patrol right now.”

 

“Are you bringing her to the police picnic?” Erin asked.

 

Ruzek gave a shrug. “Yeah, maybe. Are, uh, are you going?”

 

Erin nodded. “Sure! I’m here to ask my dad if I can bring someone actually.”

 

Jay’s breath caught in his throat.

 

“Oh, a friend?” Antonio asked.

 

“Uh, yeah. This guy from one of my classes.” Erin frowned. “Do you think my dad’ll freak out?” She asked.

 

Ruzek and Antonio were back to making muttering noises. Jay was panicking in his hidden corner.

 

There was _no_ way they could get away with this. It was one thing to convince Erin he was someone else, but it was impossible to convince a whole precinct to go along with the cover.

 

Voight’s door opened and Erin smiled brightly at her father.

 

“Dad!” She exclaimed cheerfully. Voight gave a quick look at Jay’s desk before looking back at his daughter.

 

“You sound like you want something,” he said with an eyebrow raise. “Don’t you call first?” he asked.

 

Erin rolled her eyes. “I get it; it’s a taste of my own medicine. I don’t call you enough, blah, blah.” She gave her father a hug. “Can we talk in your office?”

 

Jay heard Voight’s office door close and then saw Ruzek’s face peering down at him.

 

“That was close,” Ruzek sighed as he helped Jay to his feet. “You should probably stay back though until she leaves.”

 

Jay raised his eyebrows and let out a deep sigh too. That had been a little too close for comfort. There was also the worry that he didn’t know what prompted Erin to visit her father instead of calling him. Maybe she had received another note…

 

The door to Voight’s office opened a few minutes later and Erin strode out of the office. She walked towards Antonio and Ruzek, the latter of whom was still standing in front of Jay’s hiding spot.

 

“Guess he’s not in a great mood.” Erin commented. “Anyway, I’ll see you guys at the picnic!” She flashed a grin at them both before descending down the stairs.

 

When they heard the gate slam shut, Ruzek turned around and offered his hand to Jay, pulling him up from under Alvin’s desk.

 

“You good?” Adam asked. Jay gave a nod. “Hopefully she didn’t give him any bad news.” Adam eyed Jay pointedly before returning to his own desk. Jay had only just got to his own seat when Voight appeared at his doorway.

 

“Halstead.” He beckoned. Jay gave a concerned glance over to Ruzek before making his way to Voight’s office.

 

Voight was standing in front of his desk with his arms crossed tightly over his chest. When Jay closed the door, Voight stared at him for a few moments longer before speaking.

 

 “Erin wants to invite someone to the picnic.” He told him. “A friend in one of her classes that she says she wants me to meet. I am assuming she means you.”

 

Jay shrugged. “She hasn’t mentioned it to me.”

 

“First of all, Erin’s never brought any of her friends to the precinct picnic. If she doesn’t mean you, can you think of anybody she could mean?”

 

Jay gave another shrug. He hadn’t heard or seen her hanging out frequently with anyone else out of class other than himself. She had her tutoring sessions with Kenny but he’d never seen her mention him outside of that. The friends he’d met when he had first started tailing her had seemed to drop from the radar. Erin still texted her friends Anna and Alison, but it seemed Alison had been spending a lot of time with her new boyfriend, and Anna was doing an internship somewhere.

 

“So that brings me to my second point. I’ve been trying to stop her from coming to the picnic but she comes every year. She judges the chili cook off and she thought it was weird when I told her not to come this year.” Voight explained. “If I can’t get her to stop coming and if she _does_ mean that she wants to bring you, it means you can’t come to the picnic next week. You understand that, right?” Voight pressed.

 

Jay nodded. He had figured that it was where the conversation had been headed.  

 

“I’m sorry, Halstead, but we can’t get the whole precinct in on the operation we’re running here. That goes for Roman and Burgess too. I’ll let you break that news to them.” Voight rubbed the bridge of his nose. “You’ll have to come up with an excuse with Erin.”

 

Jay nodded again and Voight sighed.

 

“Jay, is there anything I need to know?” He leant forwards in his chair. “About you and Erin?”

 

His eyes met Jay’s in a steely gaze. Jay wasn’t sure how to answer that question truthfully without Voight reacting badly. He knew there was no chance in hell that Voight would ever agree that Jay’s course of action – even though it was on Olinsky’s encouragement – was the right way to have played the case. At least not when everything was so up in the air.

 

“No, sir.” Jay replied firmly. Voight considered his answer for a few moments before sighing; this time in what Jay thought might be relief. Voight made a move to dismiss Halstead but Jay suddenly remembered why he was there. “Sir, what if we break the case before the picnic?” He asked tentatively.

 

Voight gave him a look. “Is there anything you think can break it for us?”

 

* * *

 

The note under Erin’s door had breathed life back into their operation. Voight was incensed that someone was actually showing up at his daughter’s door to scare her and now everyone in the unit was working even harder to figure out how legitimate the threat was and revising old leads.

 

The note had been sent to forensics for fingerprinting and Mouse was trying to see if he could get into the security cameras at Erin’s apartment.

 

Jay was looking through their suspects list, hoping to see a face that jumped out at him. Someone he’d seen hanging around the apartment or on campus when he had been with Erin. So far, he was having no luck. Erin’s name flashed on his screen and he excused himself to the break room to answer it.

 

“Hey,” he said. “What’s up?”

 

“I just got out of class. I thought we’d try and get some studying done for our midterm seeing as we didn’t through much the other night. Can you meet at my apartment in thirty?” She asked.

 

Jay looked at his watch. “Yeah, I can be there.” He hung up and walked back to his desk to grab his bag and jacket.

 

“Going somewhere?” Ruzek asked when he saw Jay gathering up his stuff.

 

“I’ve gotta meet Erin for a while. Tell Voight I’ll try to be back later to catch up on some work.” Jay explained. Ruzek said something but Jay was already walking down the stairs and he didn’t quite hear him.

 

* * *

“Hey Halstead!” Roman’s voice called across the parking lot. Jay turned around to see the grimace plastered over the officer’s face. “Is it true?”

 

“Is what true?” Jay asked. Roman huffed.

 

“Is it true Burgess and I can’t come to the picnic because of you?”

 

Jay dipped his head apologetically. “Yeah, I wanted to tell you in person but-”

 

“But Ruzek got there first.” Roman balled his hands into fists. “What the hell, man? Are you serious?”

 

“I don’t know what you want me to do. Voight couldn’t dissuade Erin from coming so we can’t go. Look, I can’t go either.” Jay held up his hands; secretly hoping that Roman would remember Jay was injured and not hit him. He seemed to be taking the picnic pretty seriously.

 

“I don’t care about if you can go or not. I was planning to enter my grandfather’s chili recipe for the cook off and now I can’t. I spent three months preparing and practicing for this.”

 

“I’m sorry, man. If I could help, I would. You know that if Erin sees you there then this whole operation goes down.” Jay explained. “I’m sorry you can’t come but I owe you one. I’ll put in a good word for you with Voight once this is all over.” Jay clutched his car keys tightly.

  
“Do you know how hard I had to work to get that rec-” Jay couldn’t bear to face the angry officer anymore and so he quickly clambered into his car. He gave Roman an apologetic wave before driving off to Erin’s.

 

He hoped the team was making good progress on the case. The sooner it was over, the sooner he could stop lying and, clearly more importantly, Roman would be able to enter his grandfather’s chili recipe.

 

* * *

“YES!” Mouse’s cheer rang through the office. Ruzek and Antonio’s heads popped up with interest.

 

“Got something?” Antonio asked as he came over to Mouse’s desk.

 

“I finally got through to the security cameras in Erin’s apartment.” Mouse explained as Voight came out of his office and also made his way to Mouse’s desk.

 

“Can you access anything from the last few nights?” Voight asked. “Maybe see who left that note?”

 

Mouse shook his head. “Not yet. I’ve only managed to get through to the live feed. What floor is Erin on?”

 

“Her apartment number is 3B,” Voight said. “It’s the third one past the elevators and there’s a staircase on the right. There should be a camera near the staircase that should get her door.”  

 

Mouse flicked through the camera feeds. Some of the apartment numbers were hard to read. Ruzek and Antonio watched along, trying to make out some of the numbers to help Mouse find the right camera.

 

“Wait, there’s Jay!” Ruzek pointed at the screen where Jay was coming out of the elevators. The Jay on Mouse’s computer monitor walked off the screen and Mouse rotated through some more cameras as he attempted to find him again.

 

Mouse finally caught up with him as he approached a door and knocked. “This must be it.” Mouse said as he made a note of which camera number he was viewing through.

 

The four men watched Jay as he waited outside the door. The door pulled open and Erin appeared with a big grin on her face.

 

Ruzek snuck a glance towards Voight and a sudden sense of dread appeared in the pit of his stomach. Jay had no idea they had gotten through to the security feed and were watching him.

 

 _Go straight inside._ Ruzek willed the filmed versions of Jay and Erin. _Just walk inside and close the door._

 

Instead Erin leant against her door frame and looked up at Jay who was smiling back at her. There was no audio on the video but they seemed to be animatedly talking about something and Jay was pointing to his bandaged hand.

 

 _Go inside. Go inside._ Ruzek held his breath. Should he try and distract Voight? Maybe nothing would happen but he could sense that Voight was also deep in thought about something.

 

Voight’s jaw set as he watched his daughter take a step closer to Jay and wrap her hands around his neck, pulling him towards her in a firm kiss. When Jay pushed Erin into her apartment and slammed the apartment door behind him, Voight slammed his own fist against the desk.

 

“GODAMMIT!” Voight yelled across the office. Ruzek couldn’t bear to catch his eye and Antonio stood silently with his head down. Mouse seemed to be trying to will the footage to erase itself.

 

Voight stared at his team in fury. He pointed a finger at Mouse.

 

“You get me feeds from as far back as you can go. We’re going to nail this bastard.” Ruzek had no idea if Voight meant the guy sending the threats or Jay.

 

Suddenly, Voight was pointing a finger at him.

 

“Ruzek, get Jay back here,” he spat furiously. “NOW!”


	10. Chapter 10

“I should never have let you talk me into hiring him!” Voight grumbled as Olinsky entered his office. Olinsky glanced outside, towards where Ruzek, Antonio and Mouse were pretending not to be listening. He shut the door firmly and faced his oldest friend.

 

“Come on, Hank. He’s only been here three months.” He said as he cautiously approached Voight.

 

“And clearly doesn’t know a line ‘til he crosses it.” Voight snapped and glanced at the time. “It’s been fifteen minutes. Where the hell is he?”

 

“Ruzek’s working on it. Mouse is getting footage from the last few days.” Olinsky assured. “ _Hank_ , focus on what the aim is here.” He tried to get his friend to remember the bigger picture.

 

“I’m very aware of the aims of this operation, Al. The aim _was_ to keep my daughter safe from people who could hurt her. Instead, I let you talk me into hiring a kid who has no idea how to keep it in his pants!”

 

“Go easy on him.”

 

“And why should I do that?”

 

“Hank, how else did you think he was meant to get in with her? You wanted him with her at all times. If this were any other assignment, it would have been what we usually do.”

 

“I'm not in the mood to rehash old operations.” Voight groused he flipped opened a folder on his desk, flipped it closed, and then pushed it away again.

 

“I know, I know. But lay off of him. He tried his best to keep it as platonic as possible. They're meant to be college students. Nowadays, they're all about hookups and whatever.”

 

“Al-” Hank made a face that clearly indicated it was not a visual he wanted in his head.

 

“Look, I'm not saying anything happened, but Jay's a smart kid who knows his limits. He's also a pretty considerate guy. He wouldn't do anything to hurt her. He didn't want to let you down and, honestly, I'm the one who kinda pushed him into it. Cut him some slack.” Alvin said finally.

 

Voight eyed his friend. “What do you mean, _you_ pushed him into it?” Alvin let out a heavy sigh but before he could respond, Ruzek knocked on the door and pushed it open. He glanced hesitantly between the two before speaking.

 

“Uh, boss? Mouse has something.”

 

* * *

“So I went to see my dad today.” Erin said as she finished highlighting the sentence she was reading.

 

“Oh yeah?” Jay kept his eyes trained on his textbook.

 

“His precinct has a police picnic every year and they have this big softball game between the different units. My dad’s unit _always_ wins. And there’s always a bunch of amazing food. There’s a chili cook off that I get to judge every year. One year, Sergeant Platt managed to get hold of one of the hottest chilli peppers in the world and put it in her chili. It was the worst thing I’ve ever tasted!” Erin made a face that earned her a laugh from Jay. He could imagine Platt going through all the trouble just to win a contest.

 

“That sounds horrible.” He replied.

 

“Anyway… everyone gets to bring their family and friends because it’s a huge event. So I talked to my dad and I thought that it might be great if you could come with me.” Erin bit her lip anxiously. “It’s next Sunday and totally not a big deal but, y’know, my dad’s a cop. I’d like it if he could meet you and trust you. He doesn’t really trust my taste in guys.” She rolled her eyes playfully before noticing that Jay hadn’t responded yet.

 

She nudged his shoulder. “You listening?”

 

“Uh, yeah, I don’t think I’m going to make the picnic, Erin.” Jay said, trying to decline the invitation as casually as possible.

 

“Oh really?” She sounded hurt, like she hadn’t expected him to turn it down. “Are you busy?”

 

“Yeah, I gotta help my friend move. He’s got some heavy stuff and he can’t really do it by himself.”

 

Erin glanced down at Jay’s injured hand. “Do you have some super healing powers there or something? I thought the doctor said you couldn’t put pressure on it for a few weeks.” She moved away from him and put her notes down. “What’s really the problem?”

 

Jay scratched the top of his head, carefully avoiding Erin’s gaze. He didn’t want to see the hurt expression on her face. He knew that she had been excited about the prospect of him going to the picnic.

 

“Um, don’t you think it’s kinda early to be meeting parents and stuff?” He asked. “We’ve only been hanging out for a couple of weeks.” He hoped that that response would sound reasonable enough. No sense in rushing things, right?

 

Unfortunately it wasn’t the response Erin had been waiting to hear.

 

“We haven’t been _hanging_ out, Jason.” She bit out sarcastically. “Look, I’m not asking for a ring or anything. I know it’s not been long but this is an event that I love and my dad happens to be there. It’s not like he’s coming especially or this is an official ‘meet the parents’ thing.”

 

Jay’s phone started buzzing loudly on the couch next to him. He pulled out his phone and glanced at the name.

 

_INCOMING CALL: RUZEK_

 

Jay’s finger pressed down ‘decline’ and he stuffed the phone back in his pocket. He would call back later.

 

“That’s not what I meant,” Jay said gently. “I…”

 

His explanation was interrupted by the sound of his phone’s muffled buzzing from within his pocket.

 

“Look, my dad probably will talk to you for like ten minutes. It’s not like it’ll be a full interrogation. He’s not that scary.” Erin tried to reassure, ignoring the sound of the phone. “He already knows I’m bringing you, so he won’t be surprised.”

 

“I’m sorry, Erin, but I just can’t make the picnic.” He said. “Maybe next time?” He said in an attempt to offer her a compromise. He pulled his phone out from his pocket as it finished buzzing and looked at the display.

 

_2 MISSED CALLS: RUZEK_

 

Erin didn’t seem very happy by his response.

 

“Jason, I really like you and I’m not trying to pressure you into making this official. But it kind of seems like you're not really into this thing we've got going on. Yeah, you've stayed over and we've made out but... it just feels like you’re hesitant to actually take it to the next level.”

 

Jay’s phone lit up again.

 

_1 NEW MESSAGE: RUZEK_

 

Whatever Ruzek wanted seemed urgent but Jay knew he couldn’t answer to view the messages with Erin being upset with him. He had to try and focus on one thing at a time.

 

“It's like we're getting to know each other pretty well and spending all of our time together, but there's this invisible barrier between us. We're like half friends and half a couple... and yet, half-strangers. Where did you come from? You just suddenly showed up and we're together almost all the time but you don't seem interested when you’re with me.” She continued. Jay knew they were getting into murkier waters. He had no idea how long he could keep the cover up. It felt as if trying to convince the precinct to buy his cover story would have been far easier than trying to come up with an excuse for Erin.

 

There was more buzzing from Jay's phone. Erin clenched her fists in annoyance as Jay looked again at the display.

 

_INCOMING CALL: RUZEK_

 

“For god's sake!” Erin exclaimed as she reached for his phone, “if you're not going to answer it-”

 

Jay lunged for the phone and snatched it out of Erin's reach before she could read the display. He tucked it back in his pocket, away from view. She stared at him for a moment in shock before her features hardened and she crossed her arms.

 

“Is it someone else? Is that why you've been acting so weirdly this whole time? Am I just one of the girls you've been juggling around?”

 

“No, Erin. I'm here all the time with you.” He replied as earnestly as possible. This conversation was getting worse with every passing second.

 

“Then what is it? Why don't you want to come to the picnic? Why don't you want to go further than second base with me?”

 

“Erin, you don’t-” Jay’s phone buzzed quietly in his pocket.

 

“Look, Jason, I'm going to ask you this once and I promise, whatever you say, I won't get mad. So if you've got something to say, you should say it now.” Erin rubbed her jaw and sighed. “Is there something you're not telling me?”

 

Jay opened his mouth but then closed it again.

 

He should say it. He needed to say it. If it was Voight or Ruzek or anybody else, they would probably tell her now. She needed to know about the notes and the case and the guy at the movies beating him up.

 

“I-”

 

Jay's phone buzzed loudly from his pocket again and pulled the phone out. He heard Erin growl in frustration and turn back to her notes, giving a dismissing wave of her hand to tell him to check the message if it would stop distracting them.

 

Jay looked at his phone display.

 

_2 NEW MESSAGES: RUZEK_

 

He clicked the first one to find out why Ruzek wasn't leaving him alone. 

 

_RUZEK: get back here asap. emergncy!!! Voight :(_

 

Jay looked at the angry face emoji after Voight's name. He figured Ruzek would only call this many times if it was truly urgent.

 

“Erin, I’m sorry if my behavior lately has been upsetting you.” He said finally. “I don’t really have an explanation for it. But I really have to take this phone call and then we’ll talk, okay?”

 

“Fine.” Erin bit out, not bothering to look at him and keeping her eyes firmly on her textbook. He knew she was angry and that going to make the phone call would anger her further, but Ruzek constantly blowing up his phone was probably not going to help either.

 

Jay made his way to her front door and slipped out into the hallway. Hopefully Ruzek was calling about news that the case was over and he could tell Erin the truth.

 

Not like that would be a very easy conversation either.

 

He dialed Ruzek’s number and was surprised when he answered on the second ring.

 

“Finally!” Ruzek’s voice exclaimed from the other end. “I’ve been trying to call you forever.”

 

“I couldn’t answer! She was asking me about the picnic.” Jay explained as he glanced back at Erin’s closed apartment door. “What’s going on?”

 

“You’ve got to get back here, man.” Ruzek said. His voice went into a low whisper. “Voight is going crazy. He wants to see you now.”

 

“Why? Did we catch the guy?” Jay asked excitedly.

 

“Mouse got into the security cams in Erin’s hallway.” Ruzek explained. Jay glanced up at where a camera was positioned behind his head.

 

“They found the guy who left the notes?” Jay felt relieved. Finally they would get him. But there was a pause on Ruzek’s end.

 

“Mouse got into the _live_ feed first. We caught it from when you were walking up to her door.” Ruzek recounted but Jay already knew where this was going. He felt something heavy in the pit of his stomach. “Voight saw it all. He’s pissed.”

 

Jay let out a deep sigh.

 

“You need to get ba-”

 

“Yeah, I’m on my way.” Jay cut him off. He needed to get his mind together before facing Erin and then Voight. When Ruzek hung up, Jay leant against the wall and tried to catch his breath.

 

He was going to have to explain everything to Voight. Voight was going to fire him. Erin was never going to speak to him again.

 

He glanced up at the security cam near Erin’s door and realized that they were all probably watching him now. He turned around and opened Erin’s apartment door. He had to get his stuff and get back to the office as soon as he could.

 

Erin was still sitting silently but it seemed like she hadn’t really gotten back to her studying since he left. She was waiting to continue their conversation like he had promised they would.

 

“Everything okay?” She asked him curtly. He wondered if she would ask who had been on the phone, but she didn’t.

 

“Yeah,” he nodded. “But I have to go.”

 

Erin scoffed. “I knew you would try and get out of this.”

 

“I’m not trying to get out of anything, Erin, but I _need_ to go. I’ll come back tonight and we’ll talk this whole thing out, okay?” Erin wasn’t meeting his eyes so he reached forward and rested a hand gently on her shoulder. “Erin?” he said softly.

 

She finally turned her head towards him. Her brown eyes were narrowed but after a few moments, they softened ever so slightly and she gave a small nod. Jay’s hand was still resting on her shoulder. He didn’t want to let her go.

 

He hated that this was probably the last time he would get to see her – and it was like this, where they’d fought and she thought he had no interest in being in her life.

 

Jay had no idea what awaited him back at the office. Voight could bench him, give him grunt work or, most likely, demote him back to patrol. He wondered whether he should tell her now – be completely honest and get out in front of it.

 

Would it hurt her less?

 

Would it destroy their operation? Would it help?

 

All he knew was that the next time he saw her; she would probably have found out the truth and never want to see him again.

 

“You should go,” she told him as she put a hand over his. “Look, I’m not that mad, really. I’m more annoyed you’re going right now but if you need to go, then… then I guess you have to. I won’t hold it against you as long as you come back tonight and we talk, okay?” she said in reassurance.

 

Jay nodded and took three steps towards the front door before pausing. He spun back and rushed towards Erin. His hand grabbed hold of hers and she let out a gasp of surprise as his arms wrapped around her. Jay pulled her close, capturing her lips in his and kissing her as hard as he could.

 

Erin pulled away first and looked at him in surprise and amusement.

 

“Once,” he told her as he tried to regain his breath. “I just had to do that at least once.”

 

Her eyebrows knitted together with confusion but she didn’t seem so upset anymore. She just nodded and squeezed his hand. Jay’s heart was racing with adrenaline as he took in Erin’s features and walked to the front door.

 

The door slammed shut behind him and he glanced up at the camera in the hallway. He took a few extra seconds to prepare himself for whatever awaited him at the office.

 

* * *

Jay could sense something had happened the moment he stepped back into the office. Mouse averted his eyes completely, choosing to lean closer towards his computer monitor. Similarly, Antonio looked intently at the file on his desk. Ruzek or Atwater were nowhere to be seen.

 

Voight’s office door was closed. Jay wondered if he should go straight in or wait to be called.

 

“Hey,” Olinsky appeared and grabbed Jay’s sleeve. “Take a walk with me, okay?”

 

“Uh,” Jay looked around the office. Mouse didn’t look up and Antonio pretended to be oblivious to the exchange. “Yeah, okay.”

 

Jay followed Olinsky out of the office and back down into the main lobby. Sergeant Platt looked up in slight interest before looking back down again. They passed the desk and walked straight back out into the street and towards the car park.

 

They stopped in front of Olinsky’s car and the older man gestured towards the passenger seat.

 

“Get in.” he instructed.

 

Jay did as he was told and waited for Olinsky to get into the driver’s seat. Olinsky locked the doors but didn’t start the engine.

 

“You’re not going to kill me, are you?” Jay asked, only half kidding. He wouldn’t be surprised if Voight had told Olinsky to get rid of his body in the Chicago River.

 

“No, no, nothing like that.” Olinsky assured, but Jay wasn’t quite sure if it was that comforting. “We’ve found something out and I think it’s important for you to know some things before we tell you.”

 

Jay looked at Olinsky’s expression and realized that this was more serious that he had first thought.

 

“Is this about me and Erin?” Jay asked.

 

“No… well, a little, but mostly about Voight and Erin. Look, it’s not just an overprotective cop father thing that he’s got going on. He’s a cop; he sees the worst parts of humanity. He’s spent his life chasing down the bad guys and protecting the innocent. And then he lost his wife and son in a car accident, and that’s the kind of thing… well, some people don’t completely come back from things like that. But he had Erin and he wasn’t going to lose her too. You know, it’s hard being a single father, and being a cop – a _good_ one at that. It wasn’t easy raising a girl who lost her mom so young. Voight did his best, tried to be there for her every night but you’ve seen how we work. So he missed some stuff. A few soccer games, a couple of PTA meetings, he was maybe late picking her up a few times. He tried to make it up to her. He had neighbors help him out but some people get scared of him, y’know?”

 

Jay nodded along when Olinsky looked at him for acknowledgement.

 

“Anyway, Hank sent her to good schools and tried to keep her busy so she wasn’t alone all the time. He did his best but in junior year of high school, she sort of fell in with a couple of bad apples. Erin’s smart and she’s a real tough nut. But things happen and she got herself into a bind.”

 

“What kind of bind?”

 

“She went to parties a lot. I think at one of them someone from her soccer team introduced her to this guy, Charlie. He was a real bad seed. Voight could sense it straight away. He told her to stay away from him, which made her want to stay with him more. He got her into some stuff; pills at first, then coke… party stuff. Anyway, he started getting her to deal for him. It lasted a few months before one of the units picked her up one night.”

 

“She got caught?”

 

“Voight was furious. I’ve never seen him like that. He had figured something was up a few weeks before. He’d come home late and she was still out so he’d wait up for her. She’d tell him she was staying over at her friends’ places but he was worried. He started sending out patrol units to follow her when he knew she was going out. She started being able to spot them and managed to sneak past a few of them.”

 

“She told me that she stopped going to parties in high school because the kids started calling her a ‘narc’.” Jay said.

 

“Yeah,” Olinsky shook his head. “He was trying to keep her out of trouble while he tried to get it off her record. When she got picked up for dealing, Voight had a patrol follow her from the minute she left the house until she got back. She lost a lot of friends but to be honest, they were all pretty much bad kids.”

 

“Sounds like she didn’t appreciate that much.”

 

“She didn’t. He wanted her to be followed all the time until he could trust her again, hoping it would scare her straight; except it just ended up isolating her until Charlie came back again.”

 

“Did Voight know?”

 

“Not at first. They had some system where he would sneak her off of campus and get her back by the time school let out, so the patrol units didn’t catch anything going on for a while. It was only when Voight got phone calls about Erin skipping school that he found out the truth, and that was a couple of months later. By that time, Erin had developed a habit and Charlie pretty much had her wrapped around his finger.”

 

“What happened to him?” Jay asked.

 

“Voight got him arrested for dealing and supplying to minors. Erin had to do a small stint in rehab to avoid going to juvie. Voight pulled a lot of strings to make sure nothing permanent got on her record. Once she cleaned up, it took a while for the two of them to fix things between them. Erin wanted to go to college and Voight would only let her go somewhere close. He didn’t want her too far away from him. He promised not to have her tailed anymore if she stayed in the city and she only agreed if she could move out of the house. I’m sure you already know he pays for her apartment. That was Voight’s way to make sure she was safe.” Olinsky finished.

 

“I had no idea.” Jay told him in disbelief. He couldn’t believe that Erin had never told him that. Although, honestly, there were big things Jay was keeping from her, but that was his job. “If Erin finds out Voight got me to tail her-”

 

“Look, you and I both know that Voight knows about you and Erin. He also knows it was me who suggested it. But, luckily for you, Voight knows that if Erin finds out, then she’ll know he renegaded on his deal with her not to have her followed anymore.”

 

“So what’s happening now?” Jay asked. “Why did Voight want me back here?”

 

“Because Mouse managed to find footage of the person sending the notes through Erin’s door.” Olinsky said with a heavy sigh.

 

Jay felt his stomach constrict in fear. “Don’t tell me it’s-”

 

“Yeah,” Olinsky nodded slowly, as if he didn’t want to admit it himself. “It’s Charlie.”


	11. Chapter 11

Jay stared down at the photograph in his hand. The man staring back at him looked familiar except for one major detail.

 

“Olinsky, this Charlie guy…” Jay gestured to the photo. “Did he just get out?”

 

“A couple of months back. I think three months… maybe eight weeks. Not long.”

 

“That’s long enough to get a tattoo done though, right? Like one on the neck.” Jay asked. He flipped through his phone to find the description of the bird tattoo the guy from the movies – and the one who’d hit him – had displayed on his neck. “It was like a swallow or something.” He read out from his message to Ruzek.

 

“It’s likely.” Olinsky agreed. “Well, we may as well just assume that Charlie’s the guy who hit you in the alley and the one from the movie theatre. We'll have to get Erin to confirm that somehow.”

 

“Erin told me she didn’t know who the guy in the movie theatre was.” Jay said. “I knew she was lying but part of me hoped she’d feel comfortable confiding in me, especially if she was scared.”

 

“I’ve known Erin a long time, Halstead. I love her like she was my own daughter, but she can lie as well as anyone. As much as I would hope that she would tell me or Voight if Charlie came back, I can totally understand her not wanting to. The whole mess between Voight and Erin was something that they worked really hard to get past, and Charlie was the main catalyst for that part of their lives. He didn’t make it easy on them at all. It’s probably something Erin doesn’t want to have to deal with again.”

 

“She could have told me.” Jay grumbled, a little annoyed at himself for not pushing Erin more to tell him the truth about the guy.

 

“Jay, she didn’t have to tell you anything. She’s known you a couple of weeks and you’re a new person in her life. Would _you_ have told someone you had just started dating that you once dealt coke? Would you tell them your convict ex is back?” Olinsky sighed. “As much as we both would think we would be honest, when it comes down to it, it’s all a little grey.”

 

Olinsky looked deep in thought and Jay’s mind flicked back to Ruzek telling him that Olinsky recently discovered he had fathered a girl while he had been undercover.

 

“So, where do we go from here? Does Voight have a plan?” Jay asked. “We should probably have one now we know who it is.”

 

“Voight’s organizing something. We’re beefing up security around Erin.”

 

“What does he want me to do?” Jay asked eagerly.

 

“He said he wants you to keep your cover with Erin.” Alvin told him. Jay narrowed his eyes.

 

“Is he serious? Al, we know who it is now. We can get him and keep Erin safe. He’s been going to her house and threatening her. We need to get her away from him!” He exclaimed.

 

“I know but Voight’s the one calling the shots. Look, we’re both on thin ice with Voight. The only reason you’re still in this unit is because I’m taking the heat for you.” Olinsky told him firmly. “Now, you may not like having to lie to her, but if that’s what Voight wants you to do, you better damn well do it.”

 

Jay sighed in frustration. “What if I-” Alvin’s phone buzzed and interrupted Jay.

 

“Voight wants us upstairs. We better go.” Olinsky opened the car door and turned back to where Jay was still sitting. “Halstead, you better wipe that scowl off of your face. I know you don’t like it but this is what it is. You want to know why I’m telling you about Charlie in my car rather than upstairs? It’s because Voight is pissed – at you, at Erin, at Charlie. He’s angry and I’m trying to make sure you stay unharmed.” He glanced down at Jay’s injured wrist. “Mostly, anyway.”

 

“I don’t want-”

 

“No-one cares what you want. Now we’re going to go back upstairs and listen to how Voight wants us to proceed. And you’re going to be quiet and agree to whatever he says, okay?”

 

Jay reluctantly nodded and followed Olinsky out.

 

He felt helpless. He was concerned about Charlie, mad at Erin for not telling him about her past, angry at Voight not letting him voice his concerns. He hated this entire situation and the last thing he wanted was to go back undercover, knowing what he knew about Erin now. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to pretend he didn’t know who was following her and who could hurt her.

 

* * *

 

 

When they returned to the office, the rest of the unit was gathered around the board where Voight had put up a photo of Charlie. He looked at both of them and, for a moment, looked as if he was going to say something. But he paused and turned back to the rest of the detectives; preferring instead to ignore Jay and Alvin.

 

“I’ve got officers all around Erin’s apartment. We’ve got a live feed so we’ll know if anyone gets near her door. Mouse has a couple of last know addresses for Charlie Pugliese; one of which is his younger brother’s address. Dawson, you and Atwater check them out. Ruzek, I need you to make a list of associates and we’ll go through them in case he’s with any of them. Al, I need you to contact any of your informants, especially those who were incarcerated with him. Mouse is working on getting stuff like credit card charges to try and pinpoint his possible location.”

 

Voight glanced again at Jay and Alvin.

 

“That’s it. Everyone get going.” The team broke away and began their respective tasks, leaving Jay standing in the middle of the bullpen on his own.

 

Jay watched Voight write some information on the board and begin retreating into his office. He saw Alvin shake his head but decided to ignore him and head after Voight.

 

“Uh, boss, can I talk to you?” Jay called out as he approached the office door. He was met with the door slamming shut in his face. Jay could feel the others watching him.

 

His hands clenched into fists. He wasn’t going to go back and lie to Erin. Not anymore. He was done with it. He wanted to help.

 

He knocked twice on the door before letting himself in.

 

“Sir?”

 

“Halstead, the last time I checked this wasn’t your office and I didn’t invite you in. Get out.” Voight glared at him.

 

“Sir, respectfully-”

 

“ _Respectfully?_ ” Voight repeated incredulously. “You do not get to barge into my office and demand my attention when you deliberately disobeyed _my_ orders and went behind my back.”

 

“I did what Olinsky advised me to do.”

 

“Olinsky isn’t your Sergeant. I am. You take orders from me.” Voight bit out angrily. “Get out of my sight.”

 

“I want to help.” Jay replied, meeting Voight’s stare. “I’ll do anything to help. I don’t want to go back undercover anymore. We can get Erin somewhere else, somewhere safe.” Jay said.

 

Voight considered him for a moment.

 

“You can stay here and help Ruzek.” He said finally.

 

“What about Erin?” Jay asked.

 

“I’ll get her somewhere safe.” Voight assured. “Now get out.”

 

* * *

 

Jay clicked through several mugshots before shaking his head and crossing a name off of the list on his desk.

 

The phone on Mouse’s desk rang and Mouse picked it up on the second ring.

 

“Hello? Uh… yeah, one sec.”

 

Jay watched as Mouse got up and walked over to Voight’s office, knocking twice and pushing the door open. When Mouse walked back, he gave a quick glance towards Jay before picking the phone up again and speaking to whoever was on the line.

 

“He said it’s not a problem. I’m coming down now.”

 

Mouse hung up and went down the stairs to the lobby. Jay’s head was turned when Voight appeared at the doorway to his office.

 

“Halstead. My office.”

  
Jay did what his was told; grateful for the opportunity to get up from his desk. He had forgotten how boring grunt work was.

 

Jay closed the door to Voight’s office and faced his Sergeant, who was leaning back in his chair.

 

“Your assignment is over. You won’t be going undercover anymore.” Voight said. “I’ll get Olinsky to close your cover. You’ll have to sign some documents.”

 

Jay wasn’t quite sure what to say. Did he thank him? They were still working on the case. What he about to be suspended? Fired?

 

“I’ve got a special assignment for you for the rest of this case.”

 

Jay heard some commotion behind him. Before he could register what it was, Voight’s office door flew open and Erin burst in.

 

“DAD, WHAT THE HELL-” Erin stopped as she suddenly registered Jay’s presence in the room. “What are you-”

 

“Erin, I believe you’ve met Detective Halstead.”


	12. Chapter 12

Erin’s eyes flicked between her father and Jay. Jay’s heart was pounding, not daring to look over at Voight; afraid of what he might see in the man’s expression.

 

Instead, his eyes were transfixed on Erin, watching as she tried to comprehend the situation. He wanted to say something, but he couldn’t think of anything to say. At least nothing that he wanted to say while Voight was standing three feet away from him.

 

Jay imagined himself leaping out of his chair and grabbing Erin’s face. Pulling her close and staring into her soft brown eyes. He imagined telling her that it hadn’t been his plan. That he had never wanted to go along with it in the first place.

 

He was going to be honest. He was going to tell her the truth for once.

 

But he didn’t do any of those things. The real Jay sat frozen in his seat, wishing the ground beneath his feet would crack open and swallow him up.

 

“I can’t believe this,” Erin finally breathed out, turning away from both of them as she gathered her thoughts.

 

Silence hung in the air and Jay saw the way Erin’s hand formed a fist and the tops of her knuckles whitened. When she looked back at them, her eyes had narrowed. Her lips now formed a tight line across her features.

 

“You had me followed?” She asked her father. Voight’s expression hadn’t changed. He still looked relaxed. As if he had prepared for this.

 

“Charlie is back.” He said by means of explanation.

 

“You had me _followed_.” Erin stated again, biting the words out.

 

Jay finally found his feet and started towards Erin. He wanted to touch her and prove that he was real. That what he’d felt for her had been real.

 

“I need a word with my father,” Erin told him without glancing at him. “Privately.” Jay hesitated at the doorway. “So if you don’t mind, _detective_.” She hissed.

 

Jay found himself out of Voight’s office and back in the bullpen. The door behind him slammed and he felt awkward standing on display. Ruzek glanced up at him but didn’t dare say anything and Mouse busied himself by pretending to look at something on his computer. The two officers who had brought Erin in used it as their cue to leave the unit.

 

Jay felt relieved that Antonio, Atwater and Olinsky weren’t in the office. At least that was something.

 

He trudged back to his desk and settled into his chair. He couldn’t remember what he had been doing before Voight had called him into his office and he couldn’t find himself to care. Instead, he put his arms on the desk and buried his head, hoping that this had all been a bad dream.

 

* * *

 

“After everything we’ve been through...” Erin shook her head. “You promised.”

 

“That’s funny. I recall that you made some promises to me too.” Voight snapped back.

 

“Dad,” Erin began. “You know what you’ve just done is way worse than whatever I did.”

 

“What I did didn’t put you in any danger, Erin.” Voight stated. “In fact, it probably made you a hell of a lot safer. If I had waited for you to tell me something was wrong, you’d probably be-” he gestured vaguely. He didn’t want to think where she’d be.

 

“I had it handled.” She replied firmly. “I’m an adult.”

  
“Tell me exactly how you had it handled? Was it how he tracked you down at your apartment? Or how he pushed threatening notes through your door? He even followed you to a movie theatre.” Voight slammed his hand against his desk, startling Erin. “He could have hurt you at any time.”

 

“He wouldn’t hurt me,” she told him pointedly. “That’s one thing I’ve never needed to worry about.”

 

“Oh yeah?” Voight turned back to his desk and flipped through some files. He pulled out the note Jay had brought back and some photos. He pressed his finger on the photo of Charlie outside Erin’s apartment. “He knew where you lived, Erin. He could have gotten in and done whatever he wanted to you and we wouldn’t have known.”

 

“That doesn’t give you the right to do what you did.”

 

“I’m not apologizing for doing what I thought was right.” Voight replied curtly.

 

* * *

 

Jay chewed his lip as he tried to focus on the documents in front of him. It was difficult to concentrate on anything except wondering what was going to happen now. All he was certain of was that he would either be fired, suspended or demoted (that was obvious), and that Erin would probably never speak to him again (that was also obvious).

 

He heard footsteps coming up the stairs and familiar voices. Antonio and Atwater were back. Jay closed his eyes. He really didn’t want to deal with this now.

 

“What’s happening, bro?” Atwater greeted. Jay didn’t look up at him and Atwater glanced around the unusually quiet office. Ruzek had his head ducked down over some documents and Mouse deliberately avoiding anyone’s eyeline. “Anyone want to fill us in?”

 

Ruzek glanced at Jay and then at Voight’s closed door. “Uh, Erin knows.”

 

It was all he had to say for a chorus of ‘ohh’s and awkward shuffles between the detectives.

 

“She’s in there with Voight at the moment. She’s pissed. Two officers brought her in ten minutes ago.” Mouse supplied. Jay gave him a look and Mouse quickly glanced back at his computer screen.

 

“You okay?” Antonio asked Jay quietly as he settled at his desk. Jay gave a shrug. He didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t articulate any type of reply at the moment.

 

A sudden burst of footsteps made all the detectives turn back. Olinsky was making his way up the stairs as quickly as he could. He glanced around and seemed to have known what had happened without needing to be told. He looked at Jay’s face and then made his way to Voight’s office door. The other detectives watched as Olinsky knocked twice on the door and pushed it open.

 

“What do you want, Al?” Voight demanded; his voice echoing through the rest of the office. Even though it was deathly quiet in the bullpen, Jay couldn’t quite make out what Olinsky saying. It seemed as if Olinsky was trying to be quiet for his benefit. “Get out of my office!” Voight yelled but Olinsky entered further into the room and shut the door instead.

 

Jay could feel the rest of the unit’s eyes on him.

 

He needed to get out of here.

 

“Hey, Jay, let’s go get something to eat.” Kevin said suddenly. “It’s a nice day.” Jay appreciated the gesture but he couldn’t get his feet to move at first. Thankfully, Kevin pulled him up and steered him out of the precinct.

 

The fresh air hit Jay’s lungs sharply. He took a deep breath, letting the cool breeze shake up his insides. Jay followed Kevin down the street. He wasn’t really hungry but he appreciated Kevin getting him out of the office. He needed the space to think. And if this was his last day in the Intelligence Unit, at least he could get some perspective.

 

“So what happened up there?” Kevin asked finally as they stood in line at a hot dog stand a few blocks away from the precinct. The fresh air had now been replaced by the smoke coming from the vendor’s cart and Jay’s stomach grumbled quietly. His appetite had caught up with him.

 

“I’m still trying to understand.” Jay replied. “Voight told me he’s giving me a special assignment and the next thing I know, Erin’s in the office and she knows I was undercover.”

 

Kevin made a tutting noise. “Geez, what did she say?”

 

“Nothing to me. She seemed pissed at Voight though.”

 

“Well, obviously.” Kevin shook his head as they got to the front of the line. He ordered two hot dogs, despite Jay’s insistence that he wasn’t that hungry. “Voight say anything to you?”

 

“Once Erin got there, I was kind of a non-factor. I got sent back to my desk.” Jay shrugged. The smell of the hot dogs was starting to get stronger and he coughed as the smoke hit his lungs.

 

“Bad timing for Erin to come see her dad.” Kevin said. Jay didn’t respond. He couldn’t be certain, but it definitely didn’t seem like a coincidence. Kevin seemed to pick up on Jay’s hesitation. “Oh, no. No, no, I don’t think Voight would be that cold to do that to his own daughter.”

 

Jay didn’t say anything. If it had been two weeks ago, he wouldn’t have thought so either but now he wasn’t sure what to think. Jay suppressed a cough. The smoke was getting too much for him now and making him feel dizzy.

 

“Olinsky told me not to worry. He said he was going to handle Voight.” Jay told him as Kevin handed him his hot dog and ushered him away from the smoke.

 

“Do you think Olinsky can handle Voight?” Kevin asked before taking a bite of his hot dog. Jay didn’t know how to answer so took a bite of his hot dog too, hoping that Kevin would move on.

 

He had no idea what Olinsky’s plan was. And if Olinsky couldn’t handle it; there was no way Jay would be able to.

 

* * *

 

“Erin, could you wait outside for a minute?” Olinsky requested calmly. Years of hostage negotiations had taught him a lot about entering volatile environments. Although at this very moment, he was pretty certain he would prefer facing twenty guys with guns than his best friend and goddaughter.

 

“I can do one better. I’m leaving!” She declared.

 

“No, you’re not.” Voight told her. “You’re staying here where we can keep an eye on you.”

 

“Like hell I am!” She sneered as she turned towards the door. Before Erin could even exit out of the door, Voight grabbed his daughter’s arm and deftly closed a pair of handcuffs over one wrist and then the other. Erin had barely registered what was happening until it was too late. “Dad!” She cried in disbelief.

 

Voight ignored his daughter and turned towards his team. “Ruzek, Dawson. Take her down to the interrogation room and keep her there. If she gets loose, I’m firing you both.”

 

“Dad! Are you kidding me?!” Erin tried to get out of Voight’s grip but it was no use. The handcuffs were fastened and she couldn’t free herself. She felt Ruzek’s hand close gently over her arm and lead her away. Erin tried kicking Ruzek but missed.

 

“Please don’t attack my detectives,” Voight told her. He looked at Ruzek and Dawson. “Feel free to use any methods necessary to restrain her. Take her down to the cage if she starts causing trouble.”

 

Voight ignored Erin’s cursing and shut the door behind them, letting his daughter’s voice fade into the distance. He could feel Olinsky’s disapproval already.

 

“You happy?” Olinsky questioned. “You can’t handcuff her and send her to the cage. She’s not a criminal. She hasn’t done anything wrong.”

 

“She put herself in danger unnecessarily.” Voight replied. “She lied to me too.”

 

“She’s 22 and a college student. Her job is lying to her father. It comes with the territory.”

 

“Yeah, except most college kids don’t have Erin’s past.”

 

“So you’re mad at her.” Olinsky said. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I saw Platt when I came in. She told me you dispatched two officers to bring her in.”

 

“And?”

 

“And Halstead was here. You had told Halstead to stay here. You wanted her to find out.” Olinsky surmised. Voight didn’t react, confirming OIinsky’s theory. Alvin groaned. “You didn't have to tell her like that.”

 

“You have no right to tell me what I can and cannot say to my own daughter.”

 

“You’ve pissed her off!”

 

“She would have been angry either way once she found out. And while we're talking about things that piss people off, since when did you decide you could tell Halstead how to run the op I gave him?”

 

“Hank, I was-”

 

“I don’t know what you were trying to do. I gave specific instructions for Halstead to _befriend_ her for a reason. I didn’t tell you to worm your way in-”

 

“He almost failed because he was trying to follow your rules. I did what I thought you would have wanted me to do if it was any other operation. If this wasn’t Erin, you wouldn’t care.” Alvin told him truthfully.

 

“There’s someone out there who could hurt my daughter, Alvin. Does it look like I want to be sitting here and being lectured by you? Now, you either give me information I can use, and maybe I’ll consider listening to your concerns after this case is done; but until then, I don’t want to hear it. Bring me Charlie. I don’t care if he’s dead or alive. I want him here so I can look him in the face and make sure he’s not going to hurt Erin again. That’s all I care about. Erin can hate me all she wants. I don’t really give a damn about Halstead right now.” Voight sighed. “So if that’s all, please get out of my office.”

 

* * *

 

Halstead and Atwater walked back into the precinct after finishing their lunch. Jay had been dreading walking back in, but Kevin had told him nothing could be worse than what he’d already been through. Jay hadn’t been convinced but followed him in anyway, knowing he’d have to face it sometime.

 

Thankfully it seemed the office was out of their post-Erin stupor and back into work mode. Olinsky and Ruzek were surveying the whiteboard, while Mouse was helping Dawson with something at his desk. Before Jay could ask to be filled in, Voight came out of his office. He looked at Jay for a moment before turning to the rest of the team.

 

“Dawson, fill me in on what you found out from the last known addresses.” Voight asked.

 

“Nothing came up. We went to his younger brother’s house but he said he hadn’t seen him since before he got out of jail. He wouldn’t let us search the house without a warrant, which leads us to believe there might be a lead there. I’m requesting a search warrant now so we can go back. We think we’ve got a solid case for it so it should be fine.”

 

“Good. Keep me informed. Ruzek, how’s your associates search going?”

 

Ruzek lifted up a piece of paper. “I’ve narrowed it down to five potential leads. I just need to go interview them.”

 

“Good. Use Olinsky and Atwater to help you. Once the warrant comes in, one of you can go with Dawson to the brother’s place. We need to track him down as soon as we can. The closer we get to his whereabouts, the more we can focus our search.” Voight turned to face Jay. “Jay, I have a special assignment for you. Wait here.”

 

Jay watched as Ruzek, Olinsky and Atwater began moving out to chase up the potential associates. Ruzek gently nudged Jay’s shoulder in reassurance as he passed.

 

As the office emptied, Voight returned with a seething Erin in tow.

 

“I’m going to see if I can speed up this warrant process. Jay, you’re staying here and keeping an eye on Erin. She’s not allowed to leave. Is that something you think you can handle?” Voight asked. His tone was clipped and not at all amused. Jay didn’t know why he was putting him and Erin through this. It was the last thing any of them wanted, but it seemed to be some sort of twisted revenge plot Voight had going on.

 

Jay knew his only option was to agree.

 

Voight motioned for Jay to follow him as he led Erin to the break room. He uncuffed one of Erin’s wrists and placed the cuff around a chair arm rest instead.

 

“Is this really necessary?” Erin asked as Voight made her sit down in the chair.

 

“Yes. But if you’d rather go to the cage, I’d be happy to take you there instead.” Voight replied. Erin swore at her father, but Voight ignored it and turned back to Jay. “She’s staying in here. If she leaves, that’s on you. Got it?”

 

Jay nodded and Erin scoffed.

 

“Good. I’m heading out with Dawson. Mouse will be here.” Voight said. “Enjoy your afternoon.”

 

As Dawson and Voight left the office, Jay look at the empty space and sighed. He looked at the break room where Erin was sitting with her arms crossed over her chest (at least as best as her cuffed hand would allow). She glanced at him quickly before turning away. Mouse gave him a sympathetic look as Jay slinked into his desk chair.

 

Yep. He really needed this all to be a bad dream.


	13. Chapter 13

The office was eerily quiet. The only sound Jay heard was Mouse periodically clicking something and the sound of his watch ticking as the minutes rolled slowly by. Twenty minutes of silence.

 

During this time, he hadn’t yet been brave enough to steal a glance in the breakroom and, other than a multitude of curses, Erin hadn’t said anything. Jay stared down at his desk, willing himself to pluck up the courage to do something useful.

 

“You’re going to break that.” Mouse’s voice broke Jay’s thoughts.

 

“What?” Jay asked, confused at what Mouse was referencing. Mouse nodded towards the object in Jay’s hand.

 

“That pen. You’ve been gripping it pretty hard.” Jay looked down at the silver pen in his hands. It was Alvin’s. He hadn’t even realized he’d picked it up.

 

“Oh, sorry.” Jay replied as he put it down on the desk in front of him. Without something in his hands, Jay was unsure of what to do. He rubbed them nervously on his jeans.

 

Mouse got up from his desk and made his way to Jay’s. He looked at him sympathetically. “I know it’s tough, but you should probably go talk to her.” He said softly so Erin wouldn’t overhear.

 

Jay lifted an eyebrow. “Are you crazy? She’s going to rip my head off!” He hissed back.

 

“Probably! But the longer you leave it, the harder it’s going to be. You want her to hear your side of things, right?”

 

“Yeah…”

 

“And wouldn’t you rather do it when no-one else is here? Voight’s not here. Plus, it’s not like she can run away from you. This is the ideal time!” Mouse encouraged. “Come on, man. I can’t have you sulking here while I’m trying to work. It’s driving me crazy.”

 

Jay tried to think of another reason not to do it but Mouse was still staring at him. Jay finally gave out a resigned sigh and gave a small nod.

 

“Fine. But can I take riot shield in with me?” He asked. Mouse chuckled and patted him supportively on the shoulder.

 

Jay shuffled cautiously into the break room. Erin looked up at him and rolled her eyes, shifting in the chair so as not to face him. Jay stood awkwardly in the room for a few seconds before heading towards the coffee pot.

 

“You, uh, want a coffee or something?” He asked.

 

Erin didn’t reply. Jay poured a mug of coffee anyway and placed it in front of her. She used her free hand to flip her middle finger up at him.

 

This was not going to work.

 

He looked up at Mouse’s desk to see if he could make a quick escape but Mouse gave him a look which clearly meant that Jay wasn’t going to be able to get away with not talking to her.

 

Jay sat down in the chair opposite to Erin, earning a groan.

 

“You are not going to sit in here with me.” She scowled at him.

 

“Erin…”

 

“Look, _Detective_ , I would much prefer to be here on my own.”

 

“Can I just talk to you and explain everything?”

 

“I’m not interested.” She shot back, turning her face away from him again. “Would you please just leave?”

 

Jay remained in his chair. Although part of him did want to retreat in the relative safety of the main office, he knew that Mouse was right. The longer that Jay avoided Erin, the harder it would be to ask for her forgiveness. Erin looked at him from the corner of her eye and sighed in frustration when it was clear Jay wasn’t going to move.

 

“My name is Jay Halstead-”

 

“I don’t care.” She cut him off. “Just leave me alone.”

 

Jay didn’t move. Mouse was right. This was as good a time as any to get answers to all the questions he had. After all, he might not have a job by the end of the week. Voight could throw him out on his ass at any time and he would never know the answers.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me about Charlie?” He asked.

 

“What?” Erin’s eyes narrowed at him. “Are you really asking me this?”

 

“Erin, he's been threatening you. Did you think you could hide it forever?”

 

“I'm not talking about this with you.”

 

“Why not? I was there with you in the movie theatre that night. I saw him and you told me he was a stranger. You could have told me the truth. I could have helped.” Jay insisted.

 

“Why do you think that it’s any of your business? Because my dad sent you there to spy on me?”

 

“He could have hurt you.”

 

“Spare me the lecture, Detective. You're not my father.” Erin scoffed.

 

A few moments of silence passed over them. Erin kept her face firmly turned away from Jay’s.

 

“Were you ever going to tell me about the drugs?”

 

“Oh for the love of-” Erin rolled her eyes. “It’s none of your business. Anyway, didn't you study my file? You’re the one who’s supposed to know everything about me. You could have brought it up.”

 

“It wasn’t in your file. I only found out today when they told me about Charlie. We could have been protecting you this whole time.”

 

“Do you think I go around telling people about my past the moment I meet them? I thought you were a random guy in my class.”

 

“I wasn't just someone in your class. I was your boyfriend.” As the words left his mouth, Jay could tell it was definitely the wrong thing to bring up.

 

“Oh, yeah, don’t remind me.” Erin chuckled wryly. “Speaking of things we didn't tell each other, were _you_ ever going to tell me the truth?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Bull.”

 

“I was going to tell you everything when it was safe.”

 

“Yeah, sure. Well, I'm so glad I found out the truth the way I did. It really softened the blow.” Erin replied sarcastically.

 

“That wasn't how I wanted you to find out. I didn't know you were coming to the office.”

 

“Somebody did. It doesn't matter anyway. I'm handcuffed to a chair and you're here yelling at me about not telling you I was a drug addict, when it wasn't any of your business in the first place.”

 

“I did what my boss told me to do. It’s not like I _wanted_ to lie.” Jay explained. “Your dad said that you hated having police protection last time. He said going undercover would be the only way.”

 

“Well, that's worked out perfectly for me, hasn't it?” Her lips narrowed again and she groaned in frustration; growing increasingly irritated with Jay’s presence. “Why are you still in here with me?”

 

“I want to make sure you’re okay.”

 

“Of course I'm not okay! Look at me! I'm handcuffed to a chair in a police station.” Erin hissed at him.

 

“You're angry.”

 

She sighed heavily. “No, I'm not.”

 

“Erin, you have every right to be mad.”

 

“You don't think I know that? Yes, I do have every right to be angry at you, and at my dad, and at Charlie. But you know what I am right now? I am _humilated_. My dad handcuffed me to a chair! Half the people in this precinct have known me since I was a kid. Most of them probably know about my past with Charlie no matter how much my dad tried to hide it. And now... now they know that one of their detectives went undercover and dated me without me knowing. Do you understand how embarrassing that is? I was in here this morning gushing about my new boyfriend to this entire team and the whole time they knew it was you. I'm mad, but I can get over my anger. I'm not sure I can get over this.” Erin’s voice quivered slightly and she cleared her throat. Her hands had balled into fists, trying her best to remain firm.

 

“I-” Jay sighed.

 

“I want to be left alone now.” Erin told him. Jay remained in his chair, determined to try and broker some kind of peace with Erin. Unfortunately for him, Erin didn’t have the same outlook. At Jay’s refusal to move, Erin’s fists connected with the table; startling Jay. “NOW!”

 

“Hey, uh, Erin, we’ve got officers going to secure your apartment. Did you need anything while they’re there?” Mouse’s appearance broke the tension in the room. Both Jay and Erin appreciated the interruption. Jay could feel his blood rushing. Erin’s knuckles were still white from clutching them in tight fists. She cleared her throat before answering Mouse.

 

“I have a midterm to study for, so if you could ask someone to go to my apartment and get a couple of textbooks for me, it would be appreciated.” She said softly.

 

“You got it,” Mouse replied in a friendly tone. He turned to his friend and gestured his head out of the room. “Jay?”

 

Jay followed Mouse out of the break room. He felt Mouse’s hand grip between his neck and shoulder and give it a firm squeeze.

 

“Don’t piss her off, man. Calm down.” He hissed. Jay frowned, facing his friend with a scowl.

 

“She started it.” He retorted. Mouse didn’t reply, he just gave Jay a disapproving look and went back to his desk.

 

In an even worse mood than before, Jay slumped in his chair and closed his eyes.

 

The end of this case couldn’t come faster.

 

* * *

 

“I really don’t want to be here right now.” Ruzek complained as they watched the green door of Charlie’s ex-girlfriend’s house. They had been waiting for the girlfriend to show up so they could go question her. “I missed lunch, I’m cold, and you’ve been humming that stupid song for the last ten minutes.”

 

“It could be worse.” Atwater said, tapping his fingers rhythmically on the steering wheel.

 

“Oh yeah? How?”  


“Well, you could be handcuffed to a chair right now. Or you could have found out one of your detectives has been fooling around with your daughter.” Atwater said, earning a chuckle from Ruzek. “Or you could be Halstead.”

 

“Hmm, well none of those sound very appealing.” Ruzek conceded.

 

Atwater clicked his tongue. “Wow, what a wild few days this has been. I mean, I know we’ve only know Jay for a few months but I never figured him to go off-book during an undercover.”

 

“We’re all a little off-book to be in Voight’s unit. It’s like a prerequisite.” Ruzek said.

 

“But with Voight’s daughter? He’s either brave or stupid.” Atwater shook his head. “What was he even thinking?”

 

“Lay off of him, Kev. He’s having a tough time. Anyway, it wasn’t really his choice.”

  
“What do you mean?”

 

“Al put him up to it.” Ruzek shrugged. Atwater narrowed his eyes. “Oh, you didn’t know that.”

 

“And you did?” Atwater asked incredulously. “Man, nobody tells me anything!”

 

“It’s not a big deal.” Ruzek attempted to downplay the situation, even if it was currently a pretty big mess.

 

“How did you find out?” Atwater asked. If they were going to be waiting around, he was going to get some answers.

 

“From the tracker we put in Erin’s phone. It showed her as being at Jay’s all night.” Ruzek explained. As Atwater’s eye widened, he held up a cautionary hand. “Before you get excited, it wasn’t what you think. It was after he got beat and she had showed up. He was on meds and totally out of it. She stayed over to be nice.”

 

“How come I didn’t know about that? I read the log reports two days ago.”

 

“I… I kept it out of there.” Ruzek admitted. “Nobody but me and Mouse know. We just did Jay a favor because he _promised_ nothing was going on. Besides, it’s not like she was in danger at Jay’s. We figured it was just easier to keep Voight out of the loop on that.”

 

“That’s some solid wingman stuff right there.” Atwater said. “I could use you when we’re out at Molly’s later.”

 

“Shut up!” Ruzek rolled his eyes and grinned. As he turned back to watching the street, he saw a car pull up outside the target house and a woman get out. “Hey, head’s up. Looks like we’re on.”

 

* * *

 

The drive to Charlie’s brother’s house was taking longer than planned. Antonio had the search warrant tucked safely in his jacket while Voight took over the steering wheel. Antonio was used to being the lead driver on most runs, but Voight had taken the keys and gotten in the drivers’ seat before him, so Antonio decided not to argue as he got into the passenger seat.

 

Though Voight had done most of the talking earlier while trying to secure the warrant, he was now mostly silent during the drive. He’d sworn a couple of times at the length of the traffic jam they were stuck in, but otherwise he was keeping his mouth shut.

 

Antonio glanced at the GPS system. The red traffic warning symbol was flashing.

 

Too late now.

 

He looked at their expected arrival time and sighed inwardly as he saw it had lengthened by another five minutes.

 

“Do you think I’m being too harsh on Erin?” Voight asked suddenly. Momentarily, Antonio forgot that he was the only other person there. And that Voight expected an answer.

 

“I, uh…” Antonio paused. “I think it’s a tough situation.”

 

“I’m just looking out for her. It’s just me and her now.” Voight said quietly, reasoning with himself more than Antonio.

 

“I know. I would be the same way if it were my daughter.” Antonio reassured.

 

“Olinsky thinks I’m being too harsh.” Voight grumbled. “He thinks that I should have been a bit more sensitive.”

 

“I think there could have been better ways for her to find out.” Antonio scratched the back of his head, trying to remain as tactful as possible. “But now she’s at the precinct and she’s safe. We know who is after her now and we can concentrate on getting him.”

 

“What do you think of Halstead?” Voight asked after a few moments of silence.

 

Antonio gave a small shrug, unsure of what exactly Voight wanted from him.

 

“I think he’s a good detective.”

 

Voight gave him a look. “He didn’t quite follow the rules.”

 

“Look, boss, I know it’s complicated and you’re mad at him. I understand that. But he’s the one who found the notes, which meant that we decided to look at footage from inside Erin’s building. Jay’s also the one who called in Charlie being at the movie theatre. Don’t forget that Charlie beat him up pretty bad. I know Jay disappointed you, but we got a lot of information we might not have gotten otherwise.” Antonio reminded him gently. “That’s worth something, right?”

 

Voight didn’t reply.


	14. Chapter 14

The gate slammed shut and Jay and Mouse followed the echoing sound that resonated from the bottom of the staircase. They could already tell things hadn’t gone well from the way Voight was storming up the steps.

 

He barely glanced at the two men in the bullpen as he walked towards his office. Dawson walked slowly up the stairs behind his boss; all of them flinched when Voight slammed his door shut.

 

“How did it go?” Mouse asked cautiously. Dawson sighed and draped his jacket on the back of his chair, taking a few moments to rub his temple before answering.

 

“There was nothing.”

 

“At all?” Jay raised his eyebrows. “You got the warrant through, right?”

 

“Yeah, we got the warrant. We searched Charlie’s brother’s place and _nothing_. He claims he hasn’t seen him for about two months.”

 

“He must be lying.”

 

“Yeah, that’s what we thought. But there’s no sign of Charlie living in the house. We can’t tie him to anything there. But he did say that Charlie asked him to borrow his car and he hasn’t seen it since.”

 

“Like Charlie stole it?”

 

“We looked up the license plate on the system. It’s not been reported stolen. We’re getting it checked to make sure it wasn’t involved in any crimes the last six months. Just in case.”

 

“That’s something,” Jay tried to remain hopeful.

 

“It’s all we’ve got, but it doesn’t look great though. Looks like his brother is clean.” Dawson shrugged. “God, I need some coffee.” He got up and suddenly remembered that Erin was handcuffed in there. He gestured towards Erin and stepped closer to Jay. “How is she?”

 

Jay snapped his eyes back to his desk. Antonio glanced at Mouse for an answer. Mouse dragged his thumb across his neck and shrugged.

 

“Maybe I’ll go to the vending machines downstairs.” Antonio decided. “Want anything?”

 

Jay shook his head and waited to see if Voight would come out of his office.

 

The door remained shut.

 

Mouse was already back to work and Jay took the opportunity to steal a glance into the break room. Erin was resting her chin on her hand as she flipped through her textbook. She didn’t seem to be paying much attention to it.

 

Jay thought maybe now would be a good idea to try and smooth things over with Erin. He took a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves. Their last encounter hadn’t gone so well and he needed to steel himself. Jay had barely rolled his chair back a few inches when Voight’s door popped open suddenly.

 

The sergeant looked around his almost empty unit until his eyes fell on Mouse and Jay.

 

“Where’s Dawson?”

 

“He went to go get a snack.” Mouse answered.

 

“Where’s everyone else?”

 

“They’re not back yet.” Jay said.

 

“Well get them back!” Voight snapped. He retreated back into his office and slammed the door shut again.

 

Jay decided to leave Erin for now and picked up his phone to call back the others. Erin would have to wait.

 

* * *

 

 

It felt like there was a dark cloud over the office. The others had run into dead ends and it seemed that the only lead they had was the fact that Charlie was using his brother’s car. They had run the license plates but nothing had come up – it wasn’t stolen, it hadn’t been spotted at any robberies or suspected drug deals. It was all clean.

 

The lack of evidence was dampening everybody’s mood but no-one more so than Voight’s. He was grumpy and snapping at everyone. Jay made an extra effort to stay quiet, lest he end up on the end of Voight’s wrath.

 

Voight had even avoided Erin – who seemed to be able to read the mood and stay quiet in the break room. Jay hadn’t been back in there but she had let Mouse make her another cup of coffee and ask her about her thesis.

 

Other than that, everyone seemed to be on eggshells around each other.

 

“Boss,” Jay heard Olinsky corner Voight across the office. “We should talk about Erin and long term plans.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“You can’t keep her handcuffed here forever. She’s been here for hours already. Send her home.”

 

“Her place isn’t safe.”

 

“Then send her somewhere else. We’ve got proof of a threat now so we can get official protection detail signed off on her again.” Olinsky reminded his friend.

 

“She can stay with me,” Voight decided.

 

“Okay, well if she agrees I can get an unmarked car outside your place tonight. I’ll get some uniformed officers too in case Charlie’s watching her. Then he knows she’s protected. He might back off.”

 

“Well, we’ll see.” Voight huffed.

 

Erin drummed her fingers impatiently as she waited for her father to come and speak to her. She spotted Jay glance her way from his desk and she rolled her eyes. Between her father and the situation with Charlie, this whole ‘undercover’ thing was the last thing she wanted to deal with.

 

“Erin, pack up your stuff. You’re coming with me.” Voight announced as he walked in. He reached down and uncuffed her wrist from the chair. The release was a relief. She almost forgot how mad she was at her dad in the first place.

 

Almost.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“You’re staying with me.”

 

Erin let out a derisive chuckle. “No way.”

 

“This is not up for discussion. Your apartment is not safe to go back to.”

 

“So? I’m not staying with you. I’m not talking to you.”

 

“Erin, you’re an adult. Grow up.” Voight snapped. Erin narrowed her eyes at him.

 

“Dad, you handcuffed me to a chair for four hours. Do you really think I want spend any time with you right now?” Erin huffed. 

 

“I’m not letting you stay at your apartment on your own.”

 

“Tough.”

 

“Erin, I’m your father-” Erin scoffed and rolled her eyes, angering Voight further. “It’s either my place or a jail cell!”

 

“Hey, hey,” Olinsky interrupted the bourgeoning fight. “We can work this out. Everybody just calm down.” He looked between the two and sighed. “Look, Erin, if you don’t want to stay at your dad’s, the only other option is seeing if we can get a safe house.”

 

“I don’t want to go to a safe house!” Erin was incensed by the suggestion.

 

“Fine, you’re staying with me.” Voight said again.

 

“No! Dad, I’ve been in my apartment for weeks without anything happening to me. I’ve told you he won’t hurt me.”

 

“I’m not willing to take that chance, Erin.” Her father replied firmly.

 

“I’m going back to my apartment. I have midterms and a thesis to write. I just want to be in my own apartment. I want to be _home_.”

 

Voight rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. He was getting nowhere in the case and fighting with Erin was the last thing he needed. He crossed his arms over his chest.

 

“No.” He repeated defiantly.

 

“Dad-”

 

“I’m sorry, Erin, but I’m not going to risk it. You can be mad at me all you want, but until this case is over, you’re going to have to do what I say. I need to do everything in my power to make sure you’re safe. So you have to choose: the safe house or my house?”

 

Erin shook her head, determined not to give in to her father’s demands. Who was he to force her to do anything when he was the one who sent Jaso— _Detective Halstead_ into her life?

 

As stubborn as she was, she couldn’t admit to him that she was scared of Charlie and knew he was right. Charlie knew where she lived and the encounter at the movie theatre had frightened her. What if he _was_ at her apartment? What if he was waiting for her? She would never be able to stop those fears until he was behind bars again and she knew that her dad would do anything in his power to make that a reality.

 

She may as well go willingly.

 

“Okay,” she conceded. “I’ll stay at your house – but _only_ for tonight.”

 

She could feel some of the tension dissipate from the air. Not enough to forgive him for what he’d done, but enough to be able to understand he was right.

 

“I’ll need some things from home first.”

 

“Fine, but you’ve got to agree to have some protection. I’m not letting you go on your own.” Voight said. He turned to Olinsky. “Al, call down to Sargent Platt and get some officers up here.”

 

* * *

 

Burgess walked into the precinct with Roman in tow. It had been a long, boring shift and she was looking forward to getting back home and treating herself to a warm bath, a glass of white wine and maybe some Thai takeout.

 

Sergeant Platt greeted them with a curt nod of the head as she presented the two with some paperwork from an arrest earlier that day.

 

“Can we not do this tomorrow?” Roman complained, handing over the keys to the squad car. One look from Platt told him that this wasn’t an option. Roman sighed and took two pens, handing one over to Burgess. Burgess suppressed a yawn.

 

“Tired, Burgess?” Sergeant Platt commented.

 

Burgess gave a small shrug. It was getting late and she didn’t want to start anything with Platt that could prolong her stay at work. Platt could just pass her a snide comment and let her go on her way. She was only half an hour away from getting into her bath.

 

Platt was going to say something else but the phone rang.

 

“Front desk… uh huh… uniformed officers…” Burgess could see Platt’s eyes looking towards her.

 

_Whatever it is, do not ask me._ Burgess silently begged as she hurriedly looked through the paperwork in front of her and signed her name at the bottom.

 

She shoved the paperwork towards Platt just as Platt hung up the phone. Burgess could see that Platt was going to stop her. She could feel her perfect night in getting further away from her.

 

“Good night, Sergeant!” Burgess said cheerfully.

 

“Don’t you want to know what that was about?” Platt asked with a smile on her face. Burgess glanced at Roman and then back at Platt.

 

“What was it about?” Roman asked. Burgess inwardly rolled her eyes. Trust Roman to fall into the trap.

 

“Intelligence needs a pair of officers as soon as possible. They’ve got an assignment.” Platt told Roman, knowing that Burgess was listening intently.

 

“Intelligence?” Burgess’ heart started racing.

 

“What’s the assignment?” Roman asked.

 

“They didn’t say. Must be a big one if they need someone immediately. Hmmm, I wonder if Officers Sanchez and Geri are available.” Platt pulled up the dispatcher.

 

“We’ll do it!” Burgess stepped forward. She watched as Platt paused and looked down at the dispatcher.

 

“You just finished your shift.”

 

“We haven’t signed out yet!” Burgess insisted. “Come on, Sanchez and Geri only just started their shifts. We’re here, we’re available. Let us do it!” She was aware her voice was bordering on hysterical but she had been aching for a chance to work with the Intelligence Unit again. Their assignment with Halstead had only been for a night and she knew she needed more experience if she wanted to move up there.

 

“Uh, what are you doing?” Roman hissed.

 

“Roman, think about it. We could move up to Intelligence.” She told him, like it was obvious.

 

“I don’t want to move to Intelligence!” Roman complained.

 

“But I do!” Burgess hissed back, aware that Platt was pretending not to be listening. “Please, let’s just do it. I would really appreciate it.” She gave him a hopeful smile. “I’ll owe you one.”

 

“Intelligence owes me already! Thanks to them, we can’t go to the picnic and I can’t serve my grandpa’s chili.”

 

“Look, if you do this for me, I will do my best to get us into the picnic. Please?”

 

Roman groaned. “Fine, but only because you will owe me one and I will collect!” He warned but Burgess grabbed him into an excited hug. She noticed Platt’s stare and went straight back into professional mode.

 

“Roman and I can take this, Sergeant. It’d be less paperwork for you.” She said sweetly.

 

Platt considered Burgess for a moment.

 

“Go change into plain clothes and I’ll send you both up there.”

 

Burgess thanked Platt and ran towards the changing rooms, Roman trailing behind her. She wanted to text Ruzek the news but figured she’d see him up there anyway. She briefly thought about the relaxing evening she had planned earlier but shook it from her mind. This was more important. She was finally going to show Voight what she was made of.

 

* * *

 

Burgess couldn’t wait to find out what the assignment was. She hadn’t heard if they’d solved Erin’s case so she figured it would probably be related. She tried to ignore the less-than-enthused Roman beside her as they were buzzed into the unit and walked up the stairs.

 

Ruzek greeted her when she got to the top. She grinned up at him excitedly. He gave her hand a supportive squeeze and directed her and Roman towards Olinsky. She saw Jay sitting at his desk sullenly and wondered what had happened.

 

Moments later, she was in the break room and looking at Erin and it suddenly made sense.

 

“This is Roman and Burgess,” Olinsky introduced. “These officers will be escorting you back to your place.”

 

“I should have guessed you were cops too,” Erin sighed. “Fine, let’s get this over with.”

 

“Hold on,” Olinsky held up a hand. “Here’s the plan. There’s going to be an unmarked car following your patrol car. Mouse has eyes on your apartment so we’ll be watching. Mouse has been watching the cameras all day and no-one has approached your apartment since you left so we’re good on that. Roman and Burgess will take you up to your apartment so you can pack enough for the weekend.”

 

“The weekend?! I’m staying one night!” Erin protested.

 

“Your dad wants you there until the case is over.” Olinsky explained. He didn’t let Erin refuse as he continued. “You’ll be there for twenty minutes _only_ and then you head straight to Voight’s. We need one of you to stay there until Voight gets home later tonight. The unmarked car will be outside all night. Got it?” Olinsky waited until all three of them had nodded in understanding. “Good, go!”

 

Erin didn’t give the officers another glance before she was out of the breakroom and headed down the stairs. Roman and Burgess exchanged a brief look before chasing after her. Any questions they had would hopefully be answered later.

 

* * *

 

Jay tried not to watch Erin’s retreating figure but he found it impossible to hide his curiosity. They had largely ignored each other since their last conversation in the break room.

 

He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

 

“Okay, listen up. We are running out of leads so we need to start thinking outside the box. Charlie has his brother’s car so we need to find it. We find the car, we find out where Charlie is, and we find Charlie. Mouse is contacting some people to see if we can get access to traffic cams around Erin’s apartment. Olinsky and I are going to hit up some of our CIs and see if they’ve heard any movement. Ruzek, Dawson and Atwater, you guys split up and check motels and parking lots near Erin’s apartment. Maybe he’s parked up somewhere.” Voight instructed. He turned to Halstead. “Halstead, you keep watch on the monitors and make sure no-one but our guys go anywhere near Erin’s apartment.”

 

Halstead was not impressed with his new instructions. He had been cooped up in the office since Erin found out. He was itching to go out and do something that wasn’t sitting and staring at a screen.

 

Against his better judgment, he got up and followed Voight to his office.

 

Voight looked behind him as he saw Jay approach. He rolled his eyes and gave Jay a bored sigh.

 

“You miss something, Halstead?” He asked in exasperation.

 

“Sir, can I speak frankly?” Jay asked, closing the office door behind him.

 

“I have a feeling you're going to do it anyway.”

 

“I know you’re keeping me in the office to punish me, okay? And I know I’m the youngest in this unit. But I think you’re letting the fact that this is your daughter cloud your judgment. I can be useful _out_ _there_. You’re keeping me here because you don’t like me much and you’re mad at me. I get it. But you need everyone you’ve got out there trying to get Charlie, and instead I'm in the office watching a live feed? Mouse can do that! I’m doing nothing. I’m helping nobody by sitting here. I know Erin doesn’t want to see me and you don’t want to see me… so give me something else to do."

 

Voight didn’t react. He just let Jay finish his tirade and gave him a dry “You done?”

 

“I, uh... yeah.” Jay stood awkwardly in the office. Admittedly this had sounded a little better in his head in the brief run up to Voight’s office.

 

“So you think that I am punishing you by asking you to watch the cameras? Halstead, I haven’t even _begun_ to punish you. I’m being tough on you and I’m being tough on Erin. But I _can_ be tough on Erin because she’s my daughter and she almost got herself into a bad situation—again. I’m her dad. I get to say how I want to deal with her, okay? And as for you? Do you want to know exactly why you’re not out there hunting Charlie down? Look at your hand.” Voight gestured towards Jay’s bandaged wrist. “It’s all banged up. I know the doc said it’s only a small fracture and it’ll heal within a couple of weeks, but it doesn’t change the fact you’re injured. And if you’re injured, you’re a liability. I need my team to be faster and stronger than the guys we’re going after. Sure, you can maybe hold a gun; but can you shoot it? Can you punch a guy if you need to? I don’t want you getting more hurt than you already are, so no, you’re not out there. You want to help more? Look around! You’re in the office. You’ve got all the evidence; you’ve got phone logs, photographs, maps. Hell, you've got Mouse! Help him! Stop acting like a twelve year old and get your ass in gear. I need you thinking about the case and not about your personal life.”

 

“Sir-”

 

“You’re done, Halstead. Get out and do what I told you to do.”

 

Jay opened his mouth again but closed it and quickly left Voight’s office, feeling like he’d been caught cheating on a test.

 

Olinsky was already gone. Dawson and Atwater were getting ready to leave and pretended not to notice Jay had been in Voight’s office. Ruzek, on the other hand, was staring at him and Jay couldn’t decide whether it was in pity or contempt.

 

Jay walked slowly back to his desk and Ruzek gave him a friendly shoulder bump.

 

“Don’t worry about it,” he said reassuringly as he started following after Dawson and Atwater. “I’ll call you if we find anything.”

 

When Jay heard the gate shut at the bottom of the stairs, he sighed softly and stared at the cameras aimed at Erin’s apartment; trying not to think about the fact how much better his life could have been had he not accepted the assignment.


	15. Chapter 15

Burgess fiddled with the keychain in her pocket. She flicked her eyes up at the rear view mirror and glanced at the girl in the backseat. Erin had her eyes closed and was resting her head against the window but Burgess wasn’t sure if she was sleeping or pretending to sleep.

 

Roman insisted that he’d be driving them to Erin’s apartment. Burgess could sense that he wasn’t in the best of moods but he was far too professional to start complaining while a civilian was within earshot—sleeping or not.

 

Erin’s apartment wasn’t too far from the precinct so the journey only took them a little under ten minutes. Roman parked up near the building and radioed back to Intelligence. Burgess spied the unmarked police car park a few meters away before diverting her gaze back around the perimeter.

 

“The apartment looks clear. We’re keeping watch so you can proceed.” Mouse’s voice crackled through the radio. Burgess peered into the backseat of the patrol car and saw that Erin was definitely not asleep. Burgess opened the door for Erin and let her out.

 

Roman led the way while Burgess flanked Erin as they walked up towards the apartment block. Despite Erin’s reluctance back at the precinct, she seemed to be compliant and waited patiently as Roman scoped out the lobby. He seemed unsure and insisted that they take the stairs up to Erin’s floor.

 

Erin gave Roman a look but bit her tongue and pointed towards the staircase. It was only five flights, but by the time they hit the third, Burgess regretted not arguing against the decision. Erin seemed to also be struggling but they eventually got to the fifth floor with only slight embarrassment at their lack of fitness. Roman took a couple of moments to regain his breath before opening the door to the floor and poking his head around.

 

“It’s all clear.” Jay’s voice came through the radio. Burgess noticed how Erin bristled as she recognized the voice.

 

“Copy that,” Roman replied and gestured towards Erin’s door. Even though they had confirmation that the apartment was safe to enter, Burgess held her breath; her fingers inching close to the piece at her side. Erin passed the keys to Roman and let him open the door.

 

Roman pushed the front door open and the three surveyed the dark apartment. Erin flicked the light switch and revealed the empty space. There were still a couple of textbooks left on the coffee table as well as two coffees she and Jay had been drinking earlier that afternoon while studying. The officers that had collected her stuff earlier in the afternoon had left everything pretty much as Erin had left it earlier.

 

Roman locked the door behind them and nudged Erin closer to the center of the living room.

 

“Please stay here until Burgess and I secure the rest of the apartment.” He instructed. Erin let out a sigh but she stood in place anyway.

 

“It’s already clear. There’s, like, three rooms” she told him picking up the coffee cups and putting them in the sink. Roman ignored her and walked towards the bedroom while Burgess investigated the kitchen area.

 

Erin was right. Nobody else was there.

 

“Okay,” Roman returned a few moments later, satisfied that there were no immediate threats. “Olinsky said we have to be out of here in twenty minutes. My watch says that it’s-”

 

Erin held up a hand at Roman.

 

“I’ll be ten minutes.” She told him as she started walking towards the bedroom. Roman started after her but Erin stopped him again. “I’m just going to the bathroom.” She told him.

 

Roman turned back at Burgess. “This is _your_ fault.”

 

“Me?” Burgess raised her eyebrows. “You’re the one who made us walk a billion steps. No wonder she hates you. I’m your partner and I hate you a little bit for that.”

 

“I’m talking about the fact you signed us up as chaperones!” Roman hissed. “You just hear the word ‘Intelligence’ and you go crazy.”

 

“I didn’t know that this is what Voight wanted.” Burgess defended. “Besides, are we being shot at right now? Are we on a long, late-night case? No! You’ll be back home in like an hour.”

 

“Well, I’d better. I only did this as a favor to you because you want to be up there so badly.” He grumbled.

 

“And when I do eventually make Intelligence, I’ll be indebted to you. But for now… could you please just cool it?” Burgess pleaded. She knew Roman wanted to stay in uniform but she also knew that he would do anything to help her get the promotion if she asked him to.

 

Roman gave a relenting nod and continued scanning the apartment.

 

“Hey, uh… we were allowed to let her go to the bathroom on her own, right?” Burgess asked. Roman frowned.

 

“Well, I’m not going in there to supervise.” He replied.

 

“No, I mean, didn’t Voight want her in our sights at _all_ times? Is there a window in there?” Burgess questioned.

 

“Yeah, but it wasn’t open. You don’t think she would-” Roman locked eyes with Burgess and the two officers raced down the short hallway and through Erin’s bedroom. Roman banged his fist three times against the bathroom door.

 

“Erin?” He knocked again. “Erin, are you in there?” He looked again at Burgess and stepped backwards, ready to launch himself at the door.

 

He leaned forward just as the bathroom door clicked and Erin stood at the threshold.

 

“What. Is. Your. Problem?” Erin bit out as Roman straightened. Erin looked to Burgess for an explanation when Roman averted his gaze.

 

“We thought you might have…” Burgess gestured towards the window in the bedroom.

 

“Snuck out the bathroom window?” Erin finished. “I didn’t know that was an option.” She replied with a roll of her eyes. “Look, I’m not going to get you guys in trouble. I know babysitting me is the last thing you probably want to do. I’m just going to pack some clothes and we’ll go. You guys can wait in the living room.” She told them. When neither Roman nor Burgess moved, she sighed. “Or you can stay here and watch me.” She mumbled.

 

Burgess gave Roman a nod and stepped further into the room while her partner took it as a signal to wait elsewhere.

 

Erin didn’t say anything else while she pulled out some pajamas, a couple of changes of clothes and underwear. She stuffed them into a duffle from her closet and moved towards the bathroom to get some toiletries. Burgess watched her from the corner of her eye, trying to give Erin some privacy as she waited patiently.

 

Erin finally zipped up her bag and began walking out of her room. Burgess followed her out and joined Roman in the middle of the living room as Erin picked up a couple of her textbooks.

 

Three minutes later, the three of them were on their way out of her apartment complex and on their way to Voight’s place.

 

Burgess didn’t know much about Voight. The Sergeant was a mystery and, from what Ruzek had told her, he kept his personal life pretty close to his chest. She knew certain things from other officers at the precinct. Voight had a daughter but his wife and son died in a car accident eight years ago. Burgess couldn’t help but feel sorry for them. Losing a spouse was hard. Losing a child was harder. Losing both at the same time was unimaginable.

 

No wonder Voight was the way he was.

 

As they pulled up to Voight’s house, Burgess was surprised that it was an actual house. She figured he would be living in an apartment especially as he lived alone. She couldn’t imagine that it would be much fun living alone in a place where your family used to live.

 

Erin had a set of keys to Voight’s place and she let them in. Again, the two officers made Erin stand in the living room while the swept the place.

 

Once it was clear, they let Erin do whatever she wanted to do first. Erin put her duffle bag on the bottom of the stairs and went straight into the kitchen. Burgess held Roman back.

 

“Roman, only one of us has to stay here with Erin. I dragged you into this so you should just go home.”

 

“Are you going to be okay?”

 

“Yeah, there’s a car outside and nobody is stupid enough to try anything at _Voight’s_ place. I’m sure he’s booby trapped this entire place.” Burgess joked, glancing across the room. “You can take the patrol car. I’ll get Ruzek to pick me up.” Roman considered Burgess’ offer before giving a slight nod.

 

“Call for backup if you so much as see a shadow,” he advised. Burgess chuckled but Roman raised his eyebrows and put his hand on her shoulder. “I mean it.”

 

“I got it,” Burgess assured. Roman nodded and walked out of the house as Burgess radioed back to base. “House is secured. Roman is signing out and I’m here until Voight arrives.”

 

Burgess walked into the kitchen where Erin was busy looking through the refrigerator. Erin saw Burgess enter and picked held up a small take-out carton.

 

“I was hoping there would be some leftovers,” she said with a small smile. “I’m starved. Are you hungry?”

 

Burgess shook her head. “No thanks, I’m good.”

 

Erin found a bowl and emptied out the container before shoving the dish into the microwave. She watched Burgess nervously standing by the counter.

 

“You can sit down,” Erin told her. “You’re kinda lumbered with babysitting me. You might as well be comfortable. My dad might not be back for another couple of hours.” Erin gestured towards the clock in the kitchen. It was just after 8pm.

 

Burgess took off her jacket and sat tentatively on the bar stool. She kept one foot on the floor just in case anything happened. She was still on the job and she couldn’t afford to make a mistake. Erin took out two mugs from one of the cabinets and started making coffee.

 

Burgess looked around the kitchen. She didn’t know much about Voight, but it was sort of a nice surprise to see how he lived. His kitchen looked pretty homely for someone who exuded a pretty stern demeanor. She had noticed photographs in the hallway but hadn’t had a chance to inspect them any closer. Burgess had definitely seen a wedding photo, which was a reminder that he had a life outside of the precinct—or at least _had_ a life.

 

Erin seemed to be in her own thoughts. Burgess wondered how Erin was taking this. Ruzek had text her earlier in the day to tell her that Erin had found out the truth, but she hadn’t had a chance to ask him for the full story. Erin had mostly been quiet since they’d left the precinct but she was clearly unhappy.

 

Erin seemed to be able to read Burgess’ thoughts. As the microwave beeped, Erin pulled out the bowl and stood at the counter with a fork in her hand. Burgess got up to move off the bar stool but Erin held up a hand.

 

“Don’t worry about moving. I’m sick of sitting down,” Erin said as she tucked into the bowl of noodles in front of her.

 

As Erin chewed, she considered Burgess for a moment. She took another bite and poured out their coffees. She pushed Burgess’ cup towards her and the sugar bowl.

 

It was shaped like a duck.

 

“That was a gift from me and Justin.” Erin explained when she saw Burgess looking at it. “It was for Father’s Day when I was like… eight?” A smile tugged at her lips. “Dad hated it but we made him use it.”

 

“It’s sweet.” Burgess replied.

 

“Whatever,” Erin shrugged as she helped herself to another bite. “So, you’re a cop, huh?”

 

Burgess nodded. “Yeah, I’m sorry.” That was the first time Erin had mentioned anything about the undercover versions she’s met of Burgess and Roman at her friend’s party the other week.

 

“You’re not the one I’m mad at,” Erin said. “What’s your real name?”

 

“Burgess,” she replied and pointed to her name badge. “I’m Kim Burgess.”

 

“And the other guy?”

 

“That’s Officer Roman.”

 

“Are you two…?” Erin wiggled her fork back and forth. Kim’s eyebrows shot up and she shook her head.

 

“Oh, no. No, we’re just partners. I’m actually dating Adam in your Dad’s unit.”

 

“Ruzek? Oh, so you’re the one he was going to introduce me to at the picnic.” Erin said. “Well, it’s nice to meet you.” Erin extended her hand to Burgess and shook it. “At least officially.”

 

She went back to watching Burgess as she ate. They sat in silence for five _long_ minutes before Erin put her fork down and folded her hands. “You look like you want to say something.”

 

Burgess looked up at her in surprise. “Me? No, I, uh. No, I don’t.”

 

“It's okay. You may as well say it now. There's no-one else here.” Erin gestured to the empty room. “You can talk about it.”

 

Burgess looked down at her hands. “I just wanted to say... how sorry I was. I know it must be hard to find out your dad had you followed.”

 

“Yeah, well, that's my dad.” Erin rolled her eyes and took another bite of her food.

 

“Are you doing okay?” Burgess ventured. Erin let out a dry chuckle.

 

“I'm kind of sick of people asking me that.” She replied.

 

“That doesn't really sound like an answer.” Burgess urged. Erin put down her fork again and cleared her throat.

 

“I am... I don't know. Hurt? Humiliated? Angry? Sad?” She scratched the back of her head. “I’m a lot of things. Not sure exactly which one to focus on yet.” Erin replied. “Anyway, tell me about your day.”

 

“I’m sorry?”

 

“How was your day? Because I had a terrible day and I’d like to hear about someone else’s instead.” She explained.

 

Kim shrugged. “Uh, well, it wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t the best day. Our shift started a little late because Platt made us sign like a billion things before she gave us our squad car. We had to take new IDs too but she wouldn’t let me retake my photo.” Burgess complained as she pulled out her ID card and showed Erin. Erin laughed.

 

“Sergeant Platt? That doesn’t sound like her. She’s always been a sweetheart to me.” Erin replied.

 

“I, unfortunately, have yet to see that side of her. She likes messing with me a lot. Sometimes Roman and, when I was partnered with Atwater, she would mess with him too. But it seems to be me a lot.” Burgess frowned.

 

“Give her some time. She’s not bad. What else did you do today?”

 

“Well, it was a pretty slow day. We had to go to the grocery store because a kid was caught shoplifting a pineapple?”

 

“A pineapple?” Erin repeated. Burgess nodded.

 

“Yeah, she tried stuffing it under her shirt. She couldn’t even explain why and the store manager was on a huge power trip and made a huge scene about it. Then Roman and I helped an old lady get back into her apartment after she locked herself out. She had a spare key in her backyard under a gnome but her garden had almost fifty of them and she couldn’t remember which one. Then we had to attend a ‘criminally broken fence’, which was essentially two planks that had broken when someone backed into it.” Burgess finished. “Pretty boring stuff.”

 

“Well,” Erin shrugged, “at least you got to do things. Let’s see, today I woke up and saw my dad, then I went to class. After lunch, I called my ‘boyfriend’ over so we could study for our midterm on Tuesday. We got into a huge fight because he didn’t want to come to the police picnic and meet my dad. Then I went to go see my dad _again_ , only to find said ‘boyfriend’ sitting in his office because he was a cop. After that, my day got a whole lot better when my dad got mad at _me_ because my ex-boyfriend was stalking me, then he handcuffed me and sent me to an interrogation room.”

 

Burgess’ eyes widened incredulously. “He _handcuffed_ you?”

 

“Yeah, in front of his entire team. Then I got brought back to the office and he handcuffed me to a chair in the breakroom. I was there for four hours.”

 

Burgess let out a shocked sigh. “Okay, you win. You had the worst day.”

 

Burgess couldn’t believe that Voight would have gone to those lengths with his own daughter. He knew he was unorthodox but she thought there was a line somewhere. She had gotten some of the story from Ruzek, but evidently not the whole thing. She’d have to make him tell her everything later tonight.

 

“Kim?” Erin said after a few moments.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“How did Jay get hurt? The wrist thing, I mean.”

 

“He chased that Charlie guy down an alley and he got knocked out.”

 

“I didn't know that.” Erin replied softly.

 

“Um, just for what it's worth, I've only known Jay for a few months, but he's a really good guy. And I'm not just saying that to try and excuse what happened—but I just thought you should know. Ruzek told me that Jay wanted to tell you the truth a few times but he was scared.”

 

“Of losing his job?” Erin scoffed in reply.

 

“I think he was scared of letting your dad down and ruining the investigation. I mean, your dad is a scary guy so Jay did what he did because he wanted to make sure you weren’t going to get hurt by the people after you.”

 

“Yeah, well, not a scratch on me, right?” Erin sighed. “My dad is such a psycho sometimes.”

 

“He’s frightening but he cares about you a lot. And that goes for Jay too. I think that they were wrong not to tell you, especially when you… spent more time with Jay, but maybe they did what they did because they felt they had no choice?” Burgess finished.

 

She had no idea if she’d crossed the line but she felt that she and Erin had a nice rapport going. Maybe it wouldn’t make a difference, but she liked Jay and she liked Erin and she respected Voight a lot, even if she didn’t like his methods. So maybe somewhere along the line she’d at least helped fix something.

 

Erin finished the last of her noodles and put the dirty dish in the sink. “If you don’t mind, I’ve had an intense day. I’m going upstairs to sleep.” She told Burgess.

 

“Okay, I have to come up with you and check the room.”

 

Erin sighed. “Fine, you checked it when you came in anyway, but sure Charlie must have come through the triple-locked windows.” She said dryly.  

 

Erin followed Burgess up the stairs. She hoped Burgess wouldn’t want to stick around. Erin wasn’t planning to sleep right away but she needed time on her own (un-handcuffed) to decompress.

 

Burgess got to the top of the stairs and turned right, towards the first bedroom. Erin grabbed Burgess’ arm and pulled her back.

 

“Uh, no, that’s my brother’s room. Mine is this way,” Erin said as she redirected Burgess to the left. Burgess apologized and pushed open Erin’s door. She put an arm out to indicate Erin had to wait and then poked her head around the door. She kept one hand on her sidepiece and turned on the lights.

 

Nobody was in the room. As Burgess checked the windows, Erin stepped into the room. She hadn’t spent that much time here since she started college. Her bed was still there but it was bare. The sheets were probably in the closet. Her desk was still there as well as her closet and other furniture she hadn’t needed in her new apartment.

 

“Okay, do you need me to stay upstairs? I have to be with you until your dad comes back, but if you want, I can stay downstairs.” Burgess offered. Erin was relieved to hear that. Burgess seemed to recognize that Erin just wanted to be alone for a while.

 

“Sure, you can wait downstairs. There’s tea and coffee if you want any.” Erin explained.

 

“Thanks,” Burgess replied. She hesitated before continuing. “Um, do these windows open at all?”

 

“My dad has them secured really well. There’s usually a key…” Erin felt for the hook behind her desk. It was there but there was no key. “Well, it seems there _was_ a key. I’m sure my dad has put them somewhere. But don’t worry—I’m not going to run away.” She said. Burgess blushed.

 

“Oh, I didn’t mean-”

 

“Yes, you did. But it’s okay. You’re just doing what you were told to do. I’ll be fine. If there’s anything, I’ll let you know.”

 

Burgess nodded and left Erin, who waited until Burgess was back downstairs before shutting her bedroom door.

 

She surveyed her room again. First of all, Erin needed to get out of her clothes and into something more comfortable to sleep in. She unzipped her duffle bag and pulled out her pajamas. It was colder in her old bedroom than her apartment. Her shorts were probably not the best thing to sleep in. She knew most of the clothes in her old bedroom were either in her new apartment or donated, but she was sure she had left some things behind.

 

Erin looked in the closet first and pulled out the bedding for her bed. They smelled a little musty but they would do. She wasn’t going to rewash them or find a fresher set. It was weirdly comforting to see her old pink and grey stripped bedsheets.

 

As she did so, she spied a box in the corner of her closet. With the closet being as bare as it was, it was impossible not to see it. She knew what was in it, of course, but she wasn’t going to open it.

 

Erin closed her closet and went towards her dresser drawers instead. Most of it was empty or replaced by random stuff like old textbooks or photo albums that Voight didn’t want to leave out, but Erin eventually found a pair of old sweatpants and put them on.

 

She took out a textbook and her notepad and settled on her bed, determined not to lose important studying time to this ridiculous situation. She opened her notepad and tried to remember where she’d left off.

 

Twenty-four hours ago, Erin had almost everything right. Despite Charlie being back in town, her relationship with her dad was improving, college was going well, and she’d met a great guy.

 

She was happy.

 

Now everything had changed. Her father had broken her trust, the guy she thought she was dating turned out to be a stranger, and the threat of Charlie seemed to be looming over her.

 

At least she still had college.

 

Erin looked at the textbooks she’d brought with her. She had planned to study but she didn’t have the motivation tonight.

 

Tonight, she just wanted to put her blankets over her head and sleep for a hundred years. She wanted to wake up and have everything back to the way it had been. Before Charlie. Before Jason or Jay or whoever he was.

 

Before her mom and brother had died.

 

Dammit.

 

Erin cursed herself for letting her thoughts go there. It was a slippery slope. She had made it a point not to think about it too much. It was a sore subject for both her and her father. It had been the catalyst to the ‘Charlie Problem’ and the tenuous relationship she had with her dad. For the first few months after their deaths, her dad had closed himself off from her but then turned ridiculously overprotective.

 

The last thing she needed now was to open up that wound.

 

Erin looked around her room again. She hadn’t been here in almost three years. She frequently visited her dad at work and came over for the occasional dinner, but she had never slept in her old bedroom since she started college. She was surprised that her dad had left almost everything the way she’d left it, and it made her wonder what Justin’s bedroom was like.

 

She hadn’t seen his bedroom since before she graduated high school. She kept that door firmly shut, but from her recollections, she and her dad had packed up most of his clothes and toys and donated them to Goodwill. She remembered asking to keep his leather jacket and his stupid soccer shirt. They were tucked in that box in her closet, along with some of her mom’s jewelry and some photographs.

 

That was another thing she kept shut.

 

Erin eyed her closet. She had never taken it with her when she moved out. She wasn’t sure why since almost everything else that she owned was in her new apartment. The only items left here were old clothes she hadn’t wanted to take with her but had been too lazy to throw away or donate, some books she read in high school, and that box.

 

With a sigh, Erin got up from her bed and walked across the room towards her closet. Her fingers started inching towards the doorknob when she heard the front door open. Her head shot towards her bedroom door and she heard her dad call her name.

 

Within moments, Erin had jumped back into her bed and put her bedcovers over her head. She could hear her heart beating loudly over the conversation downstairs. She heard footsteps walking around the house. Her father wasn’t the lightest person on his feet so she could easily distinguish where he was walking.

 

Hallway. Living room. Dining Room. Kitchen. Hallway.

 

“…went up to bed twenty minutes ago.” She could hear Burgess now quite clearly. Having spent her high school years waiting for her father to fall asleep so she could sneak out, she knew that the conversation was happening at the foot of the stairs.

 

“And you checked everything?”

 

“Yes, sir. I went up with her and checked the room and the windows.” Burgess affirmed.

 

“Alright, thanks. I’m home now so you can sign out. Ruzek’s outside if you need him to take you back to the precinct.” Voight said. Erin held her breath as she waited for Burgess to leave so she could decide whether she could relax or keep pretending to sleep.

 

The front door closed firmly and she could hear her father walk near the kitchen again. Erin waited a few moments. She could hear the faint sounds of a cabinet door opening and then closing again.

 

Maybe he was getting some food first, which meant that she could probably relax. She turned around in her bed and kicked some of the covers off of her body. Before she could sit back up, she heard footsteps in the hallway again and then footsteps walking up the stairs.

 

Erin reverted back to her sleeping position, carefully facing away from the door and positioning her arms so that they looked relaxed but could cover most of her face. There was a pause as the footsteps stopped outside her door. Erin tried to calm herself down so that her breathing seemed regular enough to pass for being in a deep sleep. She didn’t want to face her father now.

 

There was a light knock on her door before another pause. She wondered if her dad would get the hint and leave, but instead the door knob turned and creaked lightly as it was pushed open.

 

_It’s just dad. It’s just dad._

 

Erin shut her eyes tightly. The banging in her chest was heavy and wouldn’t abate. She reminded herself constantly that it was her dad and not Charlie, but because she couldn’t see the face, her brain couldn’t stop her heart from racing.

 

“Erin?” She heard her dad whisper. His voice—as much as she didn’t want to talk to him right now—was a comfort and helped slow her heartrate back down.

 

For a moment she thought he would see she was sleeping and leave but instead the footsteps ventured into her room. She heard him sigh softly and place something on her bedside table. Then she watched out of the corner of her eye as he came over to her window and methodically checked the locks one by one. Apparently satisfied, he crept back out of the room (as quietly as he could, but his quiet was just regular walking) and closed the door firmly.

 

Erin didn’t turn around until she heard him go all the way back down the stairs and into the kitchen again. She rubbed her eyes and turned around to see what he had put on her table.

 

There was a glass of water and some pepper spray. As mad as she was with her dad, and as much as the gesture wouldn’t fix anything between them, she couldn’t suppress the small smile that tugged at her lips.


	16. Chapter 16

Erin lay in her bed staring up at the ceiling. She had been awake for almost two hours but there was nothing she was looking forward to outside of her old bedroom. Her dad was already up. Erin knew this because she had heard the creaking of the floorboards outside his room. The sound was so familiar, it hurt.

 

He had hovered outside her bedroom door for a few moments. Erin had been afraid he would check to see if she was already awake, but he didn’t even knock on her door. She had heard his footsteps retreat and then the sound of the shower turn on.

 

That had been forty minutes ago.

 

Her dad was now downstairs in the kitchen. Erin could smell toast and it made her stomach grumble. Those leftover noodles from last night had not been filling. She was starving, but she was determined not to see her dad today. Her breakfast would just have to wait until he left for work.

 

It was a Saturday but she was sure he would be heading back to the office. There was no way her father was going to spend the day at home when he was on a case.

 

Erin finally heard the front door open and close and waited. She couldn’t hear any footsteps but she heard the sound of a car engine revving. She waited a couple more minutes before leaping out of bed.

 

Erin peered over the bannister, trying to listen for any sounds from the lower floor but she couldn’t hear anything. With a slight spring in her step, she made her way downstairs and into the kitchen, longing for food.

 

“Hello sweetheart.” Voight greeted as he looked up from his newspaper. He was seated at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and two slices of toast on a plate in front of him.

 

Erin’s smile faded. “I thought you left; I heard the door open.”

 

“I brought in the newspaper,” he gestured to the papers in front of him. “There’s coffee if you want some.”

 

“No, thanks.” Erin spun on her heel and headed back towards her bedroom.

 

“Get back here, Erin.” Her father’s voice commanded. “You’re having breakfast with me.”

 

“I’m not hungry.” She told him without turning back.

 

“Erin!” he warned. She recognized that tone and knew she had limited choices. Over the years, Erin had learned how to test her limits with her father’s patience. Being as stubborn as her father meant that Erin knew exactly how far she could go and what she could get away with if she was persistent enough.

 

This was not one of those times.

 

She turned back around but didn’t step forward. She kept her arms crossed over her chest and shot him a look she was sure she hadn’t used since she was at least seventeen.

 

“I may be under this roof, but I’m not a kid anymore.” She told him firmly.

 

“I know. You’re an adult – which is why you’re going to come back here and eat breakfast. I know you’re mad at me and so we can talk about it. But I’m not going to let you act like a teenager.” He bit out. He pulled out the chair beside him and gestured to it.

 

Erin sighed and slowly walked back into the kitchen. She turned away from her father and pulled out the chair furthest from him. Despite her slight snub, he seemed satisfied and stood up to pour coffee out for his daughter.

 

“What time are you going to work?” Erin asked after a few long minutes of silence.  

 

“I’m not, I’m staying here today.” He told her as he put a mug of coffee in front of Erin. She rolled her eyes. “What did I just tell you about acting like a teenager?” Voight said.

 

“Dad, I can stay home by myself.”

 

“I know, but it’s a weekend and I’m taking a day.”

 

“I don’t need to be babysat.” Erin replied. “I’m sure you’ve got the SWAT team outside and the National Guard on standby.”

 

“Very funny. But it’s just me here today.”

 

“No offence, but I think I’d prefer the company of uniformed officers.” She scoffed.

 

“Well if you had agreed to that in the first place, we probably wouldn’t be here now.” Voight said. He presented Erin with her toast and sat back down to read his newspaper.

 

* * *

 

Jay woke up with a start when he heard the door downstairs slam shut. He blinked a few times to adjust his eyes to the light and he could feel a knot already forming between his shoulder blades.

 

“Hey Sleeping Beauty!” Ruzek’s voice greeted him.

 

Jay groaned. He wasn’t in the mood for this. He tried to sit up straight but he was still way too tired and sore to commit to fully waking up.

 

“Whoa, did you sleep here all night?” Ruzek asked with a frown. Jay nodded as he tried to fall back to sleep, but Ruzek swiped his elbow and woke him up again. “Jay!”

 

“What?” Jay groaned.

 

“Go home, dude.” Ruzek replied. “You don’t look too good.”

 

“Yeah, and you’re a regular supermodel.” Jay mumbled sleepily.

 

“I’m not kidding, Halstead.” Jay heard Ruzek move into the breakroom and he relished the opportunity to not have to answer any more questions. Jay could feel himself drifting back off to sleep when his senses were hit by the sudden smell of coffee.

 

“Go away, Ruzek.” Jay tried to push the mug away from him; the smell was too distracting.

 

“You gotta get up and go home. You can’t work like this.” He gestured towards Jay’s bandaged arm. “Get some real rest.”

 

“It’s still early. I’ll be up by the time Voight gets in.”

 

“It’s 10am on a Saturday. Voight’s taking a day; he’s not coming in.”

 

“What?” Jay lifted his head up and tried to focus on his watch. “It’s not six?” He sighed heavily and tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes with his good hand.

 

Ruzek was looking down at him disapprovingly. “You need to take care of yourself.”

 

“I need to solve this case.”

 

“Jay, there’s four other guys on this team; we work together. Look, I know the last few weeks have been difficult and I know you didn’t really want to get in this deep, but we’re here now. The last twenty-four hours have been totally crazy. But you’re not doing yourself or Erin any favors by punishing yourself.”

 

“I’m not punishing myself.” Jay argued back. His wrist had started to throb from sleeping at his desk.

 

Ruzek didn’t agree.

 

“Halstead, I’ve been in this unit two years longer than you have and I’m the only one here, so right now I have seniority. Go home, get some rest. Don’t come back here until we call you.”

 

“Adam—”

 

“My next call is gonna be Olinsky and you know he’s not going to argue.” Ruzek pointed to the door. “Up, out, now.”

 

Jay sighed in frustration. “I can help!”

 

“Keep telling yourself that.” Ruzek pulled on Jay’s sleeve and forced him to stand up. He grabbed Jay’s jacket and led him towards the staircase leading back down to the lobby.

 

“If you find out anything—”

 

“We’ll tell you, I promise.” Ruzek said as he walked Jay down the staircase.

 

“Are you actually going to walk me out?” Jay asked incredulously.

 

Ruzek didn’t answer but as the gated door swung open, he caught Sergeant Platt’s eyes and pointed to Jay.

 

“Sergeant Platt! Halstead doesn’t come back today unless I tell you personally to let him back in the building.”

 

Ordinarily, Sergeant Platt wouldn’t listen to Ruzek or be part of any petty squabbles coming from Intelligence, but she gave an understanding nod and gestured towards the door.

 

“Out, Halstead.” She said.

 

“It’s _Detective_ Halstead,” Jay snapped back, annoyed that he was being thrown out of the precinct. He knew he should probably not upset Platt, but he was frustrated. Sergeant Platt said something back but he couldn’t hear her as the door slammed shut behind him.

 

Jay stood outside the precinct in a daze. He was still not fully awake and his mood was pretty low, both from being thrown out and being frustrated with the case. But more than anything, he felt so useless.

 

Not wanting to go back to his lonely apartment, Jay decided to walk around for a while. His shoulders were still aching and the coffee Ruzek had made for him had brought back his appetite. He decided to go down to the diner down the street and find something to eat. Hopefully it would distract him for a while.

 

Jay walked slowly down the street. He felt more and more like he was floundering. This job was meant to have been a huge step forward in his career — and here he was three months in and everything was slipping from him.

  
His job was in jeopardy and he felt less like the ‘fresh blood’ that he was meant to have been in the unit. His first major case for Intelligence, and he had fallen in love with his boss’ daughter.

 

No, he wasn’t in love. He’d been taught about this in his seminars about going undercover. Being put into high pressure situations would often create confusing feelings for those he was meant to grow close to. Those feelings would go away once he stopped seeing Erin; a concept more and more likely with every minute.

 

He should have been firm with Olinsky when the suggestion to pursue Erin as a romantic interest was broached.

 

Actually, he probably should have handled this entire situation better from the beginning. He should have been less eager to spend time with Erin and let things grow naturally. It would have taken longer but maybe it would have saved the case, his job, and his reputation.

 

Right now Erin didn’t want to speak to him and Voight didn’t even want to look at him. The rest of the unit just awkwardly ignored the situation. Olinsky – for all his part in this – was always off doing whatever else.

 

Jay had never felt more alone.

 

Maybe this would be for the best. He could go see his dad and grandfather in Wisconsin and spend some time fishing and enjoy being away from the city. Maybe after that he could see if Will had a weekend free to show him around New York. He hadn’t been on a vacation in forever.

 

“Halstead!” A voice shook Jay out of his thoughts. He looked behind him to see Olinsky jogging up behind him.

 

“Al, what are you doing here? Did you find Charlie?” Jay questioned. Olinsky held his hands out to stop Jay.

 

“No, calm down, bud. I saw you from across the street and ran to catch up with you. You got a minute?” Olinsky asked. He gestured towards the diner Jay had been walking towards. “Time for a coffee?”

 

Jay just nodded and followed Olinsky into the diner. The older detective called out for two coffees and gestured to an open booth. Jay slid in and stared out of the window. He hoped they wouldn’t be here for long.

 

Olinsky took off his hat and sighed. Jay could see how tired and frustrated the older man was.

 

But weren’t they all?

 

They sat in silence for a few minutes until the waitress came over with their coffees. Olinksy grabbed two sugars from the tray and poured them into his cup, following it with a splash of milk. He stirred the coffee a few times as he sat in contemplation. Jay put sugar in his coffee but kept it black. The diner coffee was so much better than the sludge they had back at the precinct.

 

“How are you holding up, kid?” Olinsky asked after he finished stirring. Jay frowned. He didn’t really appreciate being referred to as a kid.

 

“I’m fine.” He replied, trying to mask the hostility he was feeling with a clipped answer and a sip of his drink

 

“I know the last few days have been hard on you. I think I owe you an apology.” Olinsky said quietly. “I think a lot of the reasons things have turned out the way that have is because I gave you some advice that probably wasn’t the best route to take.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose.

 

Jay scoffed, his bad mood beginning to resurface. “It’s a little late for that.”

 

“I know. I shouldn’t have pushed you into doing something you were against. I already knew Voight wouldn’t go for it, but I guess I thought he was too close to the situation to really see it. Now I know that I made a bad call and didn’t think about the consequences of that choice.”

 

“I’m sorry but I don’t know what you want me to say.” Jay shook his head. “This whole case has completely fallen apart. I don’t know what to do! I’ve tried asking Voight and he just lectures me about helping out. I’m _trying_ to help but I can’t find anything! Everything I do backfires on me. Ruzek threw me out of the precinct until tomorrow. Both Voight and Erin are pissed at me and I don’t see any way to fix that.”

 

“Don’t worry about them, _I’ll_ deal with them.”

 

“No offence Al, but the last time you dealt with something for me, everything imploded.” Jay snapped.

 

“If you give Voight some time to cool down, he’ll see some sense. We didn’t handle this the best way but we can still pull a win out of this.” Olinsky explained.

 

Jay shook his head. “Look, thanks for all your advice and all, but I don’t know if there’s going to be a place for me in the unit after all this. This was my first undercover case and I blew it.”

 

“Jay-” Al began, but Jay cut him off with another shake of his head.

 

“I don’t know what’s going to happen with this case, Al. I hope we do get him and keep Erin safe. But after it’s done, _I’m_ done. I quit.” Jay slid out of the booth. “Thanks for the coffee.” He said finally and walked out of the diner.


	17. Chapter 17

Roman stifled a yawn as the lift doors opened. Burgess glanced at him as they approached Erin’s apartment.

 

“Rough night?” She asked him but received a shrug in return. Kim sighed and gave her partner a weary look. “Okay, you’re in a bad mood. You want to tell me why?”

 

Roman gestured to their surroundings. “We could be out patrolling the streets and catching bad guys. Instead, we’re checking a teenager’s mail.”

 

“She’s not a teenager.”

 

“Well, from what I hear, she acts like one.” He snapped, earning a small glare from Burgess. “You know, when you signed us up to help out in Intelligence, I didn’t think it would be a permanent babysitting gig.”

 

“We’ve been _helping_ ; it’s hardly babysitting.” Burgess replied.

 

“We spent three hours yesterday sitting in the patrol car outside Voight’s house. It’s been two days and there’s no sign of him.” Roman grumbled before letting out a frustrated sigh. “I know you want to be bumped up to Intelligence...”

 

“But?” Burgess supplied, waiting for Roman to drop the other shoe.

 

“But don’t you think that stuff like this is beneath you? How exactly is doing this going to get you into Intelligence?”

 

“Look, I just need to get my face up there and show them I can handle Intelligence. They just think of me as Adam’s girlfriend. I want to prove that I belong there. You might see this as being beneath us, but this is a woman being stalked and threatened by her ex-boyfriend. Even if this wasn’t Voight’s daughter, we’d still be doing the same thing.” Burgess held out her hand. “I need the key to the apartment.”

 

Roman took out the key and gave it to his partner. He understood Burgess’ point but he still thought they could be doing much more valuable work assigned onto another case. The quicker they caught the guy, the sooner they could get back to real work.

 

Before Burgess opened the door, she motioned to Roman to keep watch. His fingers hovered by his holster; ready to take action if they were in for a surprise. Burgess took a deep breath before glancing up at the surveillance camera outside. Mouse had been watching the live feed over the weekend. He had given them the ‘all clear’ while they had been in the lift. Still, Burgess thought eyeing Roman’s gun, it didn’t hurt to be careful.

 

“You’re good to go.” Mouse’s voice crackled through the radio, seemingly aware of Burgess’ hesitation.

 

Burgess pushed open Erin’s apartment door and looked inside.

 

Nothing.

 

Despite it being three in the afternoon, the apartment was a little dark so she flipped on the light switch. The apartment looked exactly the same as it had yesterday when they had checked in. Burgess looked down – there were no new notes under the door and there had been nothing in Erin’s mailbox in the lobby.

 

“Let’s do a quick look around,” she told Roman. He gave her an exasperated look. “Just to be thorough!” she defended.

 

One of Erin’s Criminal Law textbooks was still sitting on the coffee table and the trash can in the kitchen was beginning to smell. Burgess decided to check the locks on the bedroom and bathroom windows again. She had checked them yesterday but she didn’t want to leave anything to chance.

 

There was nothing out of the ordinary in Erin’s bedroom other than the fact that Erin’s bed was still unmade, which made Burgess’ domestic goddess side itch. Her mother had (very strictly) taught Burgess never to leave the house without making her bed and she could hear her mom’s voice in her head begging her to make it. Burgess hadn’t mentioned it when Erin had been packing the other night; it was obviously not the time to bring it up. But knowing it was still unmade two days later made her antsy.

 

Surely no-one would mind if she just tucked in a corner…

 

“What are you doing?” Roman asked causing Burgess to jump as she began fluffing up a pillow.

 

“What? Nothing!” Burgess said. Roman stared at the half-made bed and then looked back at his partner. She sheepishly replied “it was bothering me.”

 

“Do you regularly go in and make up stranger’s beds?” Roman commented. “Plus, you know that she and Jay could have…” He made a motion with his fingers and Burgess made a face.

 

“Don’t be gross! And anyway, Ruzek told me nothing happened.”

 

“Oh come on! They’re in their twenties.” Roman scoffed.

 

“They’ve known each other two weeks!”

 

“Yeah like you and Ruzek waited two weeks!” he snorted. Burgess shook her head trying to hide the blush rising to her cheeks. Roman was right, of course, but she wasn’t going to prove his point.

 

Burgess looked back at the unfinished bed and decided to leave it alone. Roman was right – it was creepy. She quickly retreated from the bedroom to join Roman… who she found watering one of Erin’s house plants. She gave him a look and put her hands on her hips.

 

“It looked like it was going to die! What did you want me to do?!” He exclaimed in defense.

 

“Okay, well, we’ve officially gone off into creepy territory so let’s just get out of here.” Burgess said, urging her partner out of the apartment.

 

She could hear Roman’s earlier words to her and she realized that maybe they had given as much as they could give to the case. When they got back to the precinct, she was going to ask Sergeant Platt to reassign another uniform unit to Intelligence. They had to get back on the beat; if only for their own sanities.

 

* * *

 

Erin flicked through yet another set of home shopping channels before giving up and turning off the TV. She was officially bored.

 

She had been cooped up in her dad’s house for the whole weekend and she was itching to get out.

 

At least tomorrow was her midterm and he couldn’t keep her inside. She had never been so happy to take one.

 

Erin could hear Voight walking around in the kitchen. He had set it up as a mini-base. There were constant phone calls going out to Olinsky and the team, and some of the detectives even dropping by; with one notable exception: Jay.

 

She had pretended not to pay attention but part of her wondered why she hadn’t seen him all weekend. When everything had happened, it seemed like her dad was hell-bent on making it as awkward and torturous for both of them, but now she hadn’t seen him in two days and his absence was frustrating her.

 

“Alright, I’m coming in.” Erin’s ears pricked up at the words she heard from her father. Her dad was going back to the precinct.

 

Voight appeared at the living room doorway. “I’ve got to go in for a couple of hours.” He told her.

 

“Did you find him?” She asked hopefully.

 

“No, we’re just going through some more leads. The Commander wants an update too so I’m heading out. I’ll be back before dinner.”

 

Erin waited a moment. “Does that mean I can leave?”

 

Voight frowned. “No, you’re staying here.”

 

“Dad, I’m going crazy. Can I just go to the library or my own apartment for a few hours? You’ve got cameras everywhere.”

 

“I don’t care. You’re not going back to your apartment, and the library is also out of the question; it’s too big of an area to cover with officers.”

 

“I have a midterm tomorrow. Will I be able to take it?”

 

Voight rubbed his forehead. “Maybe, I don’t know. We’ll have to work something out.”

 

“Because it’s like twenty percent of my grade.”

 

“I’ll figure something out.”

 

“Dad!”

 

“Erin!” Voight snapped. “Look, I’m sorry but for now you’re staying put. I’m going to get a uniformed officer back in here.”

 

“There’s a patrol car outside. I can be alone for a few hours.”

 

“No, someone will be here in the house. I’ll get Platt to send someone over.”

 

“Well if I have to have a babysitter, can I at least request someone?” Erin asked.

 

“Depends on the person.” Voight clenched his jaw.

 

“Relax, it’s not Detective Halstead,” Erin rolled her eyes. “I liked Officer Burgess, the one who was with me on Friday.” Erin could see the relief flood through her father’s face.

 

“Fine, I’ll let Platt know now.” Voight agreed.

 

Erin sighed and turned the TV back on. At least she was still able to make _some_ decisions for herself.

 

* * *

 

“Okay, bring me up to speed.” Voight announced as he entered the bullpen. The team stood up to attention, eager to please their boss.

 

“We got a hit on the car Charlie’s supposedly using. It was at a gas station near his brother’s place.” Ruzek reported.

 

“There hasn’t been any sighting of Charlie since he attacked Jay five days ago. The last note was last week.” Antonio added. “Erin said she got about half a dozen notes in eight weeks before she saw him in the movie theater.”

  
“Do you think it’s possible he knows who Jay is? Or that someone tipped him off?” Atwater suggested.

 

“You mean like his brother?” Antonio said. “His brother swore he hadn’t seen him but he didn’t report his car as stolen, which means he must know Charlie has it. Or he gave it to him.”

 

“Okay, Antonio and Atwater, you guys go question the brother again. Olinsky, you and Ruzek go to the gas station and see if they have footage of whoever drove it. Jay, I need you to look through Charlie’s brother’s phone logs and see if there were any numbers or possible burner phones that he could have contacted Charlie through, okay?”

 

Everyone nodded and split into their specified assignments. Jay hung back in the office as everyone else scattered. He wasn’t looking forward to being alone with Voight, even if Mouse was here too. But there was one thing he had to do.

 

Jay approached Voight’s office and knocked on it twice.

 

“Come in,” Voight’s voice commanded, although when Jay stepped in, it was almost as if Voight had forgotten he was still in the bullpen.

 

“Sir, I need to talk to you.”

 

“What is it, Halstead?” Voight’s frustration with his young detective was hard to ignore. He barely glanced at Jay, deciding to look at the file in front of him instead.

 

Jay pulled out the white rectangle envelope from his jacket and placed it gingerly on Voight’s desk.

 

“I wanted to hand in my notice.” Jay said. “I’ll stay until the case is solved… if you want me to or I’ll go in two weeks.” He added, unsure whether Voight would rather him leave sooner rather than later.

 

Voight looked at Jay and then down at the white envelope on his desk. He snatched the envelope up and tossed it in his ‘to-do’ tray without opening it.

 

“Okay.” Voight said curtly before returning his attention back to the file he was reading.

 

“Um, I’m really sorry to have disappointed you-” Halstead started.

 

“We’re in the middle of a case, Halstead. Get back to work.” Voight snapped. Halstead gave a quick nod and left his sergeant’s office as quickly as he could.

 

Mouse looked up briefly when Jay reemerged into the bullpen. He gave a supportive wave. Jay offered a tight smile back and retreated back to his desk. Mouse didn’t know Jay was quitting, only Olinsky and Voight did, but now it was done. All Jay could do now was to try and close the case as quickly as possible.  


	18. Chapter 18

“Erin, if you ask me one more time, I’ll-”

 

“What, you’ll ground me? I practically am!” Erin snapped. “I just want to go take my midterm. It’s my senior year and I need to complete all my credits.”

 

“You can make up the test.” Voight replied without looking up from his papers. He was used to Erin’s outbursts having had to deal with her less-than-smooth teenage years. Although Voight had to admit that he hadn’t realized how trying the weekend would actually be. It had been a while since they had been in each other’s company for so long and the weekend had felt suffocating. He had become accustomed to having his own space. He knew – because she was very vocal about it – that it had been difficult for Erin to remain trapped in her childhood home; but Voight wasn’t about to make rash decisions.

 

“I don’t _want_ to have to make it up. I’ve studied for three days because I have nothing else to do. I’m going out of my mind in this house.” Erin gestured around her. “I don’t see what the big deal is if I go out for three hours to take a test.”

 

“The big deal is that Charlie could have someone waiting for you.” Voight said, catching Erin rolling her eyes. “Don’t roll your eyes at me.”

 

“You’re being impossible.”

 

“You’re being careless.”

 

Erin let out a frustrated growl. “Look, since I’ve been stuck here, there’s been no sign of Charlie. Right?” When Voight didn’t answer, she slammed her hand down on the table. “Dad!”

 

“It doesn’t mean there’s no threat.” Her father argued, choosing to ignore his daughter’s dramatics.

 

“I’m going to take my midterm even if I have to break out of here.” She promised.

 

“There’s two cops outside and I have a gun, but sure.” He replied dryly. Erin sat down on the chair next to him and leant in closely to her father, deciding it was time for a change of tactics.

 

“What do I have to agree to for you to let me do this? I’ll come straight back, I _swear_.”

 

Voight sighed. “You’ll _have_ to come back because a patrol car will be escorting you.”

 

“I don’t want a patrol car.”

 

“See? You’re promising me you’ll respect the procedures I’ve put in place for you, but already you’re refusing.” Voight shook his head.

 

“I don’t want to roll up to school in a squad car!” Erin argued. “Look, if it’s an unmarked car and the officers are plain clothed, I can agree to it.”

 

“Fine. But I need someone inside the classroom with you.”

 

“The professor won’t let anyone that’s not a student in, especially when we’re taking a test.” She argued.

 

“I figured, so you’re going to have Halstead with you.” Voight purposely made sure to avert his eyes when he finished his sentence.

 

Erin’s smile fell and her eyes narrowed. “I don’t want him.”

 

“He’s the only one with a student pass and he’s already been seen with you in that class.”

 

“There’s like a hundred people in that class! I’m sure they won’t mind a different face. They’ll all be focusing on the midterm anyway.” Erin tried to explain. “I’m not going with him.”

 

“Erin, I don’t like it much either but it’s either with Halstead or you make it up another time. I’m not going to keep negotiating with you. If you believe this midterm is important enough for you to leave the house, then you will take Halstead with you and two other officers.” Voight explained firmly.

 

Erin studied her father, wondering if he was just being difficult or if he was serious. Did he expect her to fight back more or was it his final offer? She didn’t want to push too far and end up back in cuffs. Erin looked at her dad and realized it would probably be much easier to agree to his terms – as much as she hated them – than risk missing her midterm. She let out another sigh.

 

“Fine.” She bit out unhappily. “I’ll go get my stuff. It’s at two o’clock and I can’t be late. Tell Halstead he can’t talk to me.”

 

“I’ll call it in,” Voight said as his daughter retreated from the kitchen and sulked upstairs. “Be ready in thirty minutes.”

 

* * *

 

Jay stared ahead as he sat in perhaps the most uncomfortable car ride of his life. Previously it had been that day in eighth grade when he went to Six Flags with Molly Davis and her parents and he threw up all over her new sneakers after eating way too many Twizzlers. It had been a two hour journey back home and Molly refused to look at him the whole way and for three weeks afterwards.

 

This was like that but worse.

 

Erin was refusing to look at him. She had greeted him curtly; and he was using the word ‘greeted’ liberally because she more or less sneered at him as she got in the car. They were both sitting in the backseat while Ruzek was upfront and Atwater drove. He regretted not asking Ruzek to trade because the car felt small and the gap between his and Erin’s seat was clearly marked as No Man’s Land. He kept his hands in his lap and clutched his backpack tightly.

 

Atwater and Ruzek were clearly finding it as awkward as he was because they were uncharacteristically quiet. No jokes about how they were parents dropping Jay off to college or any Jay Ball league updates. The radio was on but it was so low that Jay didn’t notice it until he heard the faint jingle of the radio station’s weather update play.

 

They pulled up half a block away from the school entrance and Ruzek and Atwater turned to them.

 

“Keep these in your ears.” Ruzek said as he showed them two ear-pieces. “We’ll communicate through these.”

 

Erin looked at the pieces and shook her head. “If I’m caught with that, I’m going to fail the class. I’m not risking it.”

 

“We need to be able to warn you if you’re in danger.” Ruzek explained. Erin pointed a thumb at Jay.

 

“Isn’t that what _he’s_ for?” She snapped. Jay felt his cheeks redden. That was the first time she had spoken to him for a few days. Erin crossed her arms. “I’m not wearing it. This _isn’t_ negotiable.”

 

“But your-” Ruzek began but stopped when Atwater tapped him on the shoulder and gave him a look. Erin couldn’t figure out what they were trying to say but Ruzek dropped one in Jay’s hand and put the other one away. “Fine, we’ll just communicate with Jay.”

 

“We’re going to be parked behind the building. After the test, don’t go through the main doors because we won’t be able to see you when everyone exits.” Atwater explained. “Our secondary meeting point is the west exit, but we’re only moving there if we need to and we’ll make sure Jay knows if we do. We’ve got eyes patrolling the perimeter of the whole building so if anything happens and you can’t leave, you both stay inside until we can get to you. Does that sound okay?”

 

Erin and Jay nodded.

 

“The test is three hours so the latest you’ll be back here is 5:15. Erin, if you’re done early with your exam, Jay will signal to us so we know to expect you out. Don’t exit the building until we can confirm it’s safe.”

 

Erin glanced at her watch. It was 1:43. The professor wouldn’t let anyone in after 2pm and she did not go through all of this to arrive late and not get to take the midterm.

 

“We need to go,” she said as she gathered her coat and bag. Her hand was on the door handle but Ruzek stopped her.

 

“Whoa, whoa, slow down. I need to get the all clear.” Erin let out a frustrated sigh, something she realized she was doing a lot of lately. She slumped in her seat, staring out at the campus while Ruzek communicated with the teams patrolling the area. She could feel Jay getting restless beside her and she tried her hardest to ignore it and focus on her midterm.

 

“We’re good to go.” Ruzek announced a few moments later. Erin peeked at the clock. 1:49.

 

She opened the door and got out of the vehicle as quickly as she could. Atwater was next to her in seconds. She didn’t bother to wait for Jay to finish getting out of the car before she started walking down the street towards the main entrance. Atwater kept up her pace with Jay trailing just a few steps behind. Ruzek drove the car slowly behind them.  

 

As they approached the end of the block, Erin could see just a few people loitering outside of the main entrance. As determined as she was not to let Charlie scare her, she tightened her grip on her bag and did a quick survey of the faces. She didn’t recognize any of them but none of them were Charlie. She wasn’t sure if that was good or not. Atwater’s presence was reassuring but she wasn’t going to admit that.

 

They rounded the corner and entered the courtyard. Atwater walked closely beside her until she felt another presence step closer to her. Jay flanked her other side and gave a nod to Atwater. Atwater patted Jay on the back and went back towards the car, which was parked across the road. Erin looked back and saw Ruzek watching the crowd.

 

She knew it was probably the safest she’d ever been but her heart was still racing. She just wanted to get inside the safety of her classroom and sit her midterm. She hated Charlie for making her feel this way.

 

Jay opened the door for her and ushered her in. He kept a hand on her arm as he surveyed the area. Erin shrugged it off.

 

“We’re in the hallway. No sign.” Jay said. Erin looked at him in confusion before she realized he was talking to Ruzek back in the car. She waited a moment until she looked at her watch. 1:54.

 

She gave an impatient sigh and started walking down the hallway towards the other late students queuing to get into the room.

 

“Erin, wait!” Jay called out as he caught up with her.

 

“We only have a couple of minutes. If he was here, he’d have done it by now. We just need to get into the room.” She hissed at him. As she reached the end of the short queue, she saw the TA checking student passes. Erin flipped through her bag to find her pass. “Here’s the deal. You sit as far away from me as you can.”

 

“Erin, I’ve been given very specific instructions by your dad.” Jay said. Erin narrowed her eyes at him.

 

“Yeah? Well I’m giving you very specific instructions too. I don’t want you anywhere near me. I need to pass this midterm and I’m not going to be able to do it with you breathing down my neck. I don’t care what my dad said. He’s not going to be in there and, if you want, I’ll lie in the report and say you were next to me but that is the only favor you’re getting from me.” Erin said as they moved up the queue.

 

“I don’t feel comfortable ignoring what I’ve been told to do.”

 

“You felt comfortable enough to-”

  
“Pass?” the TA asked, interrupting Erin. Erin handed over her pass while the TA checked her off the list and let her in. Erin took the opportunity to duck inside and away from Jay, while he fumbled trying to find his pass.

 

Although the class was almost full, there were still pockets of spaces. Erin knew that she had to act quickly to avoid having to sit close to Jay. She walked down halfway down the stairs and spotted a seat free between two girls she’d seen before. She turned back to see Jay walking into the room and looking for her.

 

Erin quickly made her way through the rest of the people in the row before finally sitting down. Jay managed to find her and she shot him a look when he tried to find a seat in her row.

 

“Everybody needs to be in a seat.” Her professor’s voice called. “It’s 1:58 and I’m not happy with how long it’s taking people to find a seat.”

 

Jay scanned the area for an empty seat above Erin so he could keep an eye on her. He managed to find one three rows up but in the middle, but it would be good enough to watch her and pretend he was taking the test. Jay quickly made his way to the seat, ignoring the looks from the people he was disrupting.

 

With Jay settled and definitely not near her, Erin let out a relieved sigh and tried to focus on her professor as he explained the rules of the midterm and the TA started distributing the test papers.

 

Erin took hers and stared at the back of the test paper. Her heart was racing; from rage, from nerves, from fear, Erin wasn’t sure but she was finding it difficult to calm herself down.

 

“Begin!”

 

As everyone turned over their papers, she couldn’t help but glance behind her and see Jay turn his paper around and study it. She didn’t realize she was still staring until he looked up and saw her. He frowned slightly, wondering why she looked so panicked but Erin abruptly turned back and turned her own test over.

 

Erin’s eyes scanned over the first question. This one was easy. She had studied those notes carefully the night before. She began writing down quick notes in the margin of the test of her main arguments before starting her answer to the question. Erin was relieved to find that her midterm was proving to be a welcome distraction to her current predicament and she could concentrate on something else for the next three hours.

 

* * *

 

The car door slamming shut woke Ruzek up from his nap. He turned to see Atwater eating half an avocado beside him.

 

“Why are you eating that?” Ruzek asked groggily. They had been in the car for almost two hours and he was bored.

 

“I needed a snack.” Atwater replied.

 

“So? There’s a hot dog stand over there.” Ruzek motioned to the one across the street. Atwater gave him a look.

 

“That’s not good for you.” He replied. “Plus, we spend a lot of time on stakeouts and sitting in cars. My sister wants me to start eating healthy.”

 

“We also spend a lot of time running after suspects. I’m pretty sure we can work off a hot dog.” Ruzek snorted.

 

Atwater shrugged. “It’s your choice, Adam, but your body is a temple and you should look after it.” Ruzek rolled his eyes. “And plus there’s this cute girl at the Whole Foods across the street.”

 

Ruzek chuckled at his friend and checked his watch.

 

“Man, we’re going to be here forever.” He grumbled.

 

“Eh, it’s not too bad. This case will be over soon.” Atwater said as he ripped open a small sugar sachet and poured it over his avocado.

 

“Oh that’s real healthy, Kev,” Ruzek said with another snort. Atwater ignored the comment and continued eating. “Do you think Charlie is even still out there?”

 

“I don’t know. Maybe he noticed Erin wasn’t there anymore and figured it wasn’t worth it anymore if Voight was protecting her. Or maybe he biding his time and we’re gonna have to stay on our toes for a while longer. I’m sure we’ll know sooner or later.”

 

“Kim told me Erin asked her to be the one to keep her company yesterday.” Ruzek said.

 

“That’s nice. I wonder if Kim’s gonna get a shot up here.” Atwater said. Ruzek frowned.

 

“What do you mean? In Intelligence? I thought our unit was full.” He asked.

 

“You didn’t hear? Olinsky told me Jay handed in his notice.”

 

Ruzek’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Are you kidding?”

 

“No, he told Voight yesterday. It’s a shame, bro. He was a good detective.” Atwater clicked his tongue.

 

“He’s still here. He might not leave.” Ruzek argued but Atwater gave him a look.

 

“Do you really think Voight was gonna let him stay after all this?”

 

* * *

 

Erin flexed her fingers. Her hand was getting a cramp and she was fighting through the pain in order to get all of her thoughts on paper on time. She wasn’t exactly sure how long was left on the exam but she had seen some people already hand in their papers and leave. Nobody in her row though.

 

In the brief moments while she took her focus off her test, she idly wondered how Jay was getting on. He had missed most of the year and had only really been around when they covered the different types of columns and friezes in architecture. It wouldn’t matter anyway. He wasn’t even a student. This didn’t matter to him.

 

Erin tried to shake those thoughts out of her head.

 

It wasn’t the time to analyze what parts of their ‘relationship’ had been real.

 

None of it was.

 

Everything had been a lie.

 

Erin looked at the next question. She knew the answer because Jay had helped her study for it. She wondered if Jay would remember the name of the architect. He had had trouble pronouncing it and she had thought it was so cute and planted a kiss on his neck.

 

He had lightly brushed her off and told her they needed to study. She had believed he was just serious about studying and she hadn’t really minded it before, but she knew the truth now.

 

She didn’t like the way that felt.

 

Erin could feel her heart begin pacing again. She clamped her eyes shut to try and refocus but her palms began to feel sweaty and she felt lightheaded.

 

Erin tried to count down slowly from ten. Her therapist had taught her how to use it to calm herself down after the deaths of her mom and brother.

 

Oh great, now she was thinking about them.

 

How she probably would never have fallen in with Charlie and his friends if they had never died.

 

How her relationship with her dad would probably be better if she had never met Charlie.

 

How she probably wouldn’t be in this absurd situation now if they were still alive.

 

But they were gone and she had no-one but a father who wanted to keep her under lock and key for the rest of her life.

 

“You have fifteen minutes left.” The professor announced to the room. The students beside Erin started writing faster and Erin realized she still had one question left to answer.

 

She stared back down at the last question.

 

She knew how to answer it but all she could see was Jay.

 

Who had been nice and kind. Who had made corny jokes and cried at the movies.

 

He was the same guy who had lied to her for their entire… whatever they were.

 

Erin thought about the police officers walking around campus looking out for her. She had never wanted this. Even back when she had first gotten caught up with Charlie, she hated the way she could spot plain clothed officers following her every move on her father’s orders. She could feel their distain at having to follow around a kid who got into a bad crowd. That’s why she had tried to avoid telling her father about the notes as long as she could. She had finally gotten her life back and now it was unravelling.

 

And as strong as she tried to be, she was unsettled by the fact that Charlie was still out there somewhere. Was she going to have to live with her father until they found him? What if they never found him? Was she just meant to stop living her life?

 

The student beside Erin finished her test and started re-reading her answers. Erin watched out of the corner of her eye and then looked back at her test. The words had started to muddle together and she could feel the blood rushing through her ears as her heart thumped wildly in her chest.

 

There was no way she was going to be able to focus on it now. She could feel Jay’s eyes watching her. She had cameras outside her apartment door. She had to have a police escort just to leave the house. Her father had handcuffed her to a chair! She had no freedom anymore.

 

“There are five minutes left of the test. You now may not leave until the end.” The professor said.

 

Erin wasn’t sure how she had done on the test, but she was certain of one thing.

 

In five minutes time, she was going to run.


	19. Chapter 19

4.37pm.

 

Jay couldn’t believe how slowly three hours passed when pretending to take a midterm. He looked through the questions for the thirtieth time. Most of it was impossible to understand. Some, he was surprised to learn, had been vaguely familiar and he had actually attempted to answer the question.

 

He had noticed the girl sitting next to him glance over a few times and frown at him. He made a show of his hand being bandaged up as a reason he was writing so slowly. Jay thought it should make it seem like he was writing enough so he had jotted down a few song lyrics in there to pad out the paragraphs.

 

He looked up and across the room where Erin was taking her test. Her head was bent down as she furiously wrote on her test paper. Maybe she did manage to memorize all those temple plans after all.

 

He watched as she paused to flex out her hand and shake out her shoulder. After two and a half hours, Jay wasn’t surprised that she had a hand cramp. The girl next to him had already switched pens to one with a softer grip.

 

Jay kept watching as Erin gathered her loose hair up and tied it roughly into a ponytail. He noticed then that she was wearing the same burgundy sweater she had been wearing the first day they’d met.

 

Back when it all seemed so much simpler.

 

“Hey Jay, everything good there?” Ruzek’s voice crackled through his earpiece. Jay furtively glanced across to his neighbors to see if either of them noticed the voice. “Cough once for yes, twice for no.”

 

Jay covered his mouth and coughed once clearly.

 

“Have you noticed anyone suspicious? Cough once for yes, twice for no.” Was the next instruction.

 

Jay diverted his eyes away from Erin and did a quick sweep of the room as quickly and as stealthily as he could. Everyone was bent over their test papers and writing. The only people walking around were the TA and the professor.

 

Jay coughed twice.

 

“—I’m not asking him that!” Jay could hear the faint argument that Ruzek and Atwater were clearly having. “No, I don’t think now is—okay, fine! Kevin wants to know if you want to go to Molly’s tonight to watch the game. Cough once for yes, twice for no.”

 

Jay rolled his eyes and coughed twice. The girl next to him shot him an irritated look before returning to her test paper.

 

He glanced at the clock.

 

23 minutes left.

 

\----

 

Erin watched the clock intently. Five minutes felt like agony to wait. Her hands were clammy and she couldn’t hear anything above the sound of her heartbeat.

 

Could anyone else hear it?

 

She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down. Slowly, she went through her options in her mind.

 

She was on the end of a row. Her professor usually asked for papers to be passed to the other end of the row to be collected, which meant she could pass her paper down and stand up. Jay was in the middle of a row and would have to pass down at least six papers before he could get up. There were three rows of people between them. She just needed to get up and get out—preferably within a crowd. She knew there was another midterm taking place in the lecture hall opposite that would get out at the same time. She could lose Jay in that crowd easily.

 

The next part was going to be harder. The building was surrounded. Her dad had made sure of that. Jay would be able to alert the others almost as soon as he was out of the room so she needed to get out as quickly as possible.

 

And that’s all she had.

 

She had no idea what she was going to do once she got out. She didn’t have her car so she was pretty much stuck on foot. It was either hide out on campus or try and run somewhere. She didn’t think she could get that far on foot before a cop car found her.

  
Erin regretted not thinking of a plan earlier. She could have brought a disguise or a burner phone. She could have called a friend to meet her somewhere in a getaway car, or even mapped out her escape route on Google maps if she could just look at her phone.

 

She scoffed to herself.

 

Her dad probably would be tracking her phone if he could.

 

“Time is up. Please pass your test papers to your right to the end of the row.” The professor announced, startling Erin out of her thoughts. The room erupted into noise as the students gathered their belongings and started passing down their papers.

 

Erin practically threw hers to the guy on her right and grabbed her bag. She was already passing Jay’s row when he saw her.

 

“Erin, wait! What are you doing?” He questioned. He stood up to try and follow her but his row was full. “Erin!”

 

Erin could hear Jay behind her but she kept her eyes forward and pushed her way into the crowd that was forming around her as everyone headed to the exit at the same time. She wanted to stay inside the crowd as long as possible to stay hidden.

 

Fortunately, the other midterm had also finished by the time Erin got to the hallway, so the crowd grew twice as strong. She spied the main exit ahead of her and breathed a sigh of relief as she followed the crowd towards the doors.

 

Until she spotted all six feet and two inches of Atwater scanning the crowd.

 

Erin immediately turned back. Although the majority of the crowd were heading to the main doors, there were still a good amount of people milling around in the hallways or heading further into the building. Erin knew there was a female bathroom nearby. She could hide out there until the coast was clear. Hopefully they would think she just disappeared in the crowd.

 

Erin walked towards the bathroom but was dismayed to see that a small line was forming outside as other girls arrived ahead of her. Erin couldn’t wait in line.

 

“Erin!” She heard Jay’s voice call out. She allowed herself a quick glance over her shoulder. Jay had decided to follow the crowd instead of her direction. Atwater hadn’t seen her yet and was also scanning the faces of the big crowd heading towards the main doors.

 

There was no way Erin could risk waiting around. Erin knew there was another bathroom on the other side of the building. It wasn’t too far but it was less populated. She already had a bad feeling about this change to her plan, but she was stuck. The crowd was already beginning to thin out and she could only buy herself a few extra minutes to make her move.

 

She finally got to the other bathroom and was grateful to find no line but a stall already engaged. Erin locked herself in one of the empty stalls and squeezed her eyes shut. There was no going back now. Even if this was a terrible idea, she wasn’t prepared to give herself up and be carted back to her dad’s house.

 

She was in trouble either way.

 

Erin slowly opened her eyes as she tried to steady her breathing and stop her heart from pounding. She needed to pull herself together and focus if she was going to get out of here; the longer she spent in one place, the easier she would be to find.

 

Her dad taught her that.

 

Erin would have laughed at the irony of using the techniques her dad taught her to stay safe to run away from him but she was too busy trying to figure out her next move.

 

First of all, she needed a place to lay low. She pulled out her phone from her pocket and turned it on. She impatiently waited for it to load up, listening out in case anyone came in.

 

As her phone burst into life, the door swung open and Erin heard two female voices. She tried to spy through the gap of her stall to see who it was. She recognized one of them from her class but not the other.

 

While they were talking, Erin scrolled through her phone contacts to see who she could call. She needed someone she could trust. She had a very short list; and one that was getting progressively shorter.

 

Her eyes flicked down the list and finally settled on Tina, one of the girls from her Criminology course. They were more classmates than friends but Tina was nice and she had been in her study group last semester. Erin tried to decide whether she should tell the truth or come up with a lie, but she was running out of time. Hopefully Tina would be on campus today.

 

Erin’s finger hovered over the call button and she took a deep breath. The stall next to her flushed and, as Erin finally pressed “Call”, another stall flushed. She held her phone close to her ear as she looked through the gap in her stall again. Someone was washing their hands while the other was brushing her hair and chatting to her friend. If she was going to tell Tina the truth, she’d need them all to leave.

 

Tina’s phone went straight to voicemail and Erin cursed as she listened to the phone message. She had three seconds to decide if she was going to leave a message. Just before the beep, Erin hung up and went back to her phone contacts.

 

Tina had been her best bet and now she was back to square one. She continued looking through her contacts but was already at the end and she had to make a choice. The longer she stayed in one spot, the easier it would be found.

 

_Keep moving. Just keep moving._

 

Her dad had pretty much drummed in into her during her teen years.

 

_Call me. I’ll find you._

 

Erin rolled her eyes at the thought. Her dad was always _so_ _proud_ of the fact he could snap his fingers and find his daughter, no matter where she was.

 

If it weren’t cops showing up at her friends’ basements ‘on a tip’, it was undercover officers tailing her home after swim practice. She couldn’t even hide her drugs from him in the end. It was like he had sniffer dogs raid her bedroom while she was in class, or reading her emails, or tracking her phone.

 

Erin’s breath caught in her throat as she looked down at her phone.

 

He wouldn’t.

 

Erin stared down at the device in her hand.

 

No, it was impossible. She always had her phone on her. It had been in her bag the whole time she was in the precinct or at her dad’s house. She had never let it out of her sight.

 

Except…

 

Erin’s stomach twisted and she clenched her fist.

 

She was so stupid. She _lost_ her phone and Jay found it. She had been so happy.

 

What an idiot.

 

They were probably already on their way so she had to leave now. She was near the other side of the building but it wouldn’t take that long for them to show up. Erin turned over her phone and tried to see if she could get into her phone, but it was completely sealed. She knew Mouse was the tech guy and he had his hands on some pretty elite stuff. Erin started looking through her apps to see if it was something like that but then the door swung open again.

 

Erin froze as she looked through the gap. It was someone she’d never seen before but she looked like a student. She was standing at the sinks and didn’t look like she was going to use the stall. Erin needed to get out as soon as possible. She was sure most of the students had left by now. She was in one of the furthest bathrooms but that meant there were less places to hide.

 

She turned off her phone. That was a start. Hopefully if it was an app or software, it would stop tracking her. Erin started sliding it back in her bag but paused. She didn’t know how half of this stuff worked but Mouse did and he could have put something _in_ the phone itself.

 

Deciding it wasn’t enough to just turn the phone off; Erin wrapped it in a wad of bathroom paper, intending to throw it in the nearest trashcan.

 

As she turned to unlock the stall, she heard the door swing open again.

 

“Erin?!”

 

Jay’s voice came through the door. Erin held the lock in place.

 

“Excuse me, this is the _ladies_ bathroom.” The girl at the sink said firmly.

 

“I’m looking for someone.” Jay replied. “She’s in here.”

 

“I’m pretty sure I’m the only one in here.” The girl’s tone remained stern.

 

“Can I just check?”

 

“No, you can’t. _I’ll_ check… if you wait outside.” Erin praised the girl silently. Jay tried to protest but the girl shut the door in Jay’s face and let out an annoyed sigh.

 

“Hellooooo.” The girl called through the bathroom. “Anyone else here?” The girl started opening the vacant stalls – Erin was in the second to last.

 

Finally the girl came up in front of Erin’s. She knocked.

 

“Excuse me, are you Erin?”

 

Well, this was happening.

 

Erin cleared her throat and opened the stall. The girl seemed startled.

 

“I’m really sorry, but there’s a guy out here who is looking for someone named Erin.”

 

“Yeah, that’s me.” Erin admitted. She gave a furtive glance towards the door before facing the girl again. “Look, he’s like an ex-boyfriend. We broke up a few days ago and he hasn’t taken it well. I have midterms and I just need to get out of here without him seeing me.” Erin told her.

 

The girl gave Erin’s arm a reassuring squeeze. “Say no more. Urgh guys are such jerks. I’ll tell him no-one’s here.”

 

“I’m afraid he might check for himself when you leave. Could you do me a favor?”

 

“Sure, what do you want me to do?”

 

\----

 

Jay tapped his foot impatiently as he waited outside. Mouse tracked Erin’s phone to somewhere in the west wing of the building and it hadn’t moved for the last five minutes. This bathroom was his best bet.

 

There was hardly anyone in this area of the building so he hadn’t expected someone to already be in the bathrooms and now he had lost control of the situation. The door opened and the girl appeared again.

 

“There was no-one in the bathroom.” She told him. He eyed her suspiciously.

 

“You were in there a long time. There are only five stalls.” He said accusingly. That was not the right tone to take.

 

She gave an unimpressed sigh. “I found this in one of the stalls.” She handed him a phone. It was definitely Erin’s, which meant she had been here.

 

“Are you _sure_ no-one is still in there?” He asked again.

 

“Look, you can check if you want but I’ll call campus police and tell them you’re harassing girls in the bathroom.” She crossed her arms defiantly.

 

“I’m a cop.” He told her.

 

“So get a warrant.” She shot back.

 

“That’s not how it wor-” Jay shook his head and let out a frustrated sigh. Another girl approached them and walked into the bathroom. It was clear that Jay wasn’t getting past the gatekeeper in front of him so he decided he could waste time pushing the issue or use what he already had.

 

He would feel better if he could check the bathroom himself but at least he had Erin’s phone, which meant the odds were that she ditched it and probably had already left before he even got there. He needed to get it back to Mouse to see if he could find out who Erin last called or texted. He raced back down the corridor and prayed that Voight wouldn’t have him crucified for this.

 

\----

 

“Thanks so much.” Erin whispered. The girl beamed back.

 

“I’m happy to help. He seems like a real piece of work.” She made a face. “Look, there’s a side exit down the left corridor. I’ve seen people use it but it’s not one of the obvious ones. Are you parked somewhere?”

 

“No, a friend dropped me off.” Erin lied.

 

“Well, this exit leads towards the gym and the basketball court. I’d give you a ride but I’ve got a lab in ten minutes.”

 

“No, the gym is fine. I can get somewhere safe.” Erin said.

 

“Great, let me see if the coast is clear and I’ll show you where it is.”

 

Erin followed her new friend out of the hallway and towards the smaller exit. The girl pointed somewhere in the distance.

 

“There’s a short wall but that path leads you behind the gym. It’s like five minutes.”

 

“Thanks,” Erin said gratefully. “If you see anyone looking for me, could you just…”

 

“Secret is safe with me.” The girl replied sincerely.

 

Erin left the building and peered over the wall. It was a service road which was hardly used. She could see the gym building close by and the path that led to it. Erin was about to jump over the wall when she spied a police car coming down the road. Erin ducked and waited for it to pass. Once it was clear, she jumped over the wall and started down the path to the gym.

 

Erin wondered how long she’d been in the bathroom for. She tried digging into her pocket for her phone before she realized who had it now.

 

She guessed it was at least 5:20. Usually at this time she’d be in her spin class with Alison.

 

Alison.

 

Erin and Alison always took the 5pm spin class every week. Except Erin had a midterm today but Alison didn’t. She hadn’t heard from Alison in a week or so and Erin prayed that she had decided to show up today as usual. As Erin approached the gym building, she dug out her student pass and approached the entrance. She tapped in and ran for the locker rooms. She could hide out there until the class ended in ten minutes. Alison always showered after class so she’d have to get to the locker rooms.

 

Erin sat in the locker rooms and tried to busy herself while she waited. She had no gym stuff with her but she was wearing leggings and a sweater so it was conceivable that she could have been working out. She wanted to look as inconspicuous as possible.

 

Alison showed up thirteen minutes later and was clearly surprised to see Erin sitting in the locker rooms.

 

“You weren’t in class!” Alison exclaimed as she saw her friend. Erin was relieved to see her and gave her a hug.

 

“I had a midterm.” She explained. “It just let out.”

 

“Are you working out now?” Alison asked. “We could go for pizza tonight. I haven’t seen you in a while! You should bring that guy you’re seeing.”

 

Erin paled. “Uh, no I was waiting for you. I need a favor.”

 

“Sure, are you okay?” Alison asked, noticing the change in Erin’s expression.

 

“Can I stay at your place tonight? I’m really sorry but I just need somewhere to stay for a few hours.”

 

“Of course. Stay the night; stay the week. Do you want to leave now?” Erin nodded and Alison grabbed her things out of her locker. “Come on, bud, we’ll order some pizza and beers in and you can tell me everything.”

 

\----

 

“You said she was going to be there.” Jay snapped at Mouse.

 

“I said the _phone_ was last located there. It was turned on and then off. I had about thirty five seconds of information to get the location.” Mouse’s voice replied coolly from the walkie. Jay had his head in his hands in the back of the car as Atwater typed furiously into a laptop and Ruzek directed the other officers to their search posts.

 

“I’m going back inside.” Jay announced. Atwater didn’t stop typing but he locked the doors. Jay pounded on the door. “Let me out, Kev.”

 

“You’re not thinking straight. It’s for your own good.” Atwater replied.

 

“She’s in there somewhere.”

 

“She could be in there or she could be miles away from here. We have no way of knowing. Mouse is looking through the phone data now. We’re trying to get permission to get into the security cameras inside the building. It might take some time.”

 

“So I’ll help the others look.” Jay insisted as Ruzek approached the doors. He made a motion with his fingers as he climbed inside.

 

“We’re going back to the precinct.” Ruzek announced.

 

“What about the rest of the campus?” Jay asked incredulously.

 

“The other officers are looking. It’s a big campus. It’s like finding a blonde needle in a sorority haystack. Olinsky wants us back now.”

 

“She could literally be watching us right now.” Jay said. Atwater made a clicking noise with his tongue.

 

“Probably. But we’ve been given orders so we’re following them.” He said as he turned over the engine and started the car. Jay looked out of his window and back at the campus as they drove off.

 

He hated Erin.


	20. Chapter 20

Olinsky had never seen Voight turn that shade of red. He had been by his friend’s side for over twenty years: through Camille and Justin’s deaths, through Erin’s rocky teen years, through six internal affairs investigations. He had seen the best and worst of Voight throughout the years.

 

But he had never seen this.

 

To say Voight was furious would be an understatement.

 

Voight’s voice was reaching levels almost inhuman as he yelled at Mouse. Poor Mouse who was the only other person in the bullpen at that moment, and who was frantically trying to get into as many security cameras as humanly possible. Olinsky could see Mouse’s hands shaking in fear as Voight slammed his fist on the table.

 

The door below them buzzed indicating Ruzek, Atwater and Halstead were back from the University. The room became silent; Voight’s tirade coming to an end as his eyes focused on the staircase instead. This situation was only going to get worse.

 

“Hank…” Olinsky began but it was ignored. Ruzek was the first one up and he purposefully avoided eye contact with Voight. Atwater followed closely behind.

 

Then Halstead.

 

Olinsky didn’t even have a chance to register Halstead’s appearance before Voight charged towards him.

 

“WHAT DID YOU DO?” Voight screamed as he grabbed onto Halstead’s jacket and pushed him towards the wall. Halstead almost lost his balance and narrowly missed tumbling down the stairs behind him. Ruzek was frozen in fear while Atwater started to approach the pair but hesitated, unsure of how he was going to get between his boss and co-worker despite his tall frame. “Every single time I run into a problem here, it’s because of you. You had _one_ job.”

 

“I tried-” Halstead tried but Voight slammed him into the wall again.

 

“You’ve _tried_? My daughter is god knows where. If anything has happened to her, if anyone has touched a damn hair on her head, I am holding you – and you alone – responsible. I’m going to destroy whatever is left of your pathetic career, you hear me?”

 

“It wasn’t my fault!” Halstead argued. It was the wrong thing to say. Voight’s face contorted and he swung his fist, hitting Jay square on the cheek. Voight’s arm retracted for another and Halstead squeezed his eyes shut, anticipating the next blow and trying to deal with the searing pain of the first punch.

 

But another hit never came and Halstead felt himself being pushed aside. Ruzek helped Jay to his feet and it was then that Jay noticed Olinsky had grabbed Voight’s arm and taken his place.

 

“Get away, Al!” Voight shouted, trying to aim for Halstead again but Olinsky managed to hold his friend off.

 

“It’s not his fault, Hank. If you wanna hit someone, hit me. It’s not Jay’s fault.” Olinsky said. Voight growled and turned back, searching for Halstead, but Ruzek had already taken him into the safety of the break room. Atwater blocked the doorway. “Let’s go in your office,” Al said firmly.

 

Voight listened to his friend. He could feel his heart racing and his tongue felt thick in his mouth. Voight’s face flushed hot and his hand stung.

 

When Olinsky shut the door to his office, Voight was pushed down to sit on the chair and Olinsky handed him some water.

 

“You want to tell me how we’re going to explain that to Internal Affairs?” Olinsky asked.

 

“Shut up, Al.” Voight snapped.

 

“I know you’re going through something here, but you can’t take it out on your team. I’ve seen you get away with a lot of stuff but I’m not going to let you start wailing on the people who are here to help you.”

 

“My daughter is missing. If you were in my place, you think you’d be acting like it’s another day in the office?”

 

Al shook his head. “My daughter is sixteen, Hank. And so was Erin when she went through those problems with Charlie the first time. I was there with you then too. I know exactly how that felt. But you’re forgetting is that Erin isn’t sixteen any more. She’s an _adult_. Adults make their _own_ decisions.”

 

“There’s someone after her!”

 

“I know. And we’ll get him. We’ll find Charlie and she’ll be safe from him. But there’s only so much we can do. If she wants to be gone, she’s going to stay gone. We’ve been through this before but she was a minor then. Today, she made a decision in that exam room, or maybe even before that. You and me, we’ve been through everything together. I was there when you got married, when Justin was born, when Erin was born.” Olinsky sighed.

 

“Al, I don’t want to hear it.” Voight tried but Olinksy continued on.

 

“If you’ll listen to no-one else, listen to me. This whole thing could have been avoided if the two of you had been less stubborn. Erin should have told you about Charlie being back. You shouldn’t have gotten Jay to do what he did. I shouldn’t have let you do it so it’s on me too. And yeah, I take responsibility for telling Jay to go and get as close as possible. But you and Erin? You don’t trust each other. All of us have been walking on eggshells for the past few weeks around you guys. We’re caught in the crossfire and that stops us from doing our jobs properly because none of us know how to approach you or how you’re gonna react. You’ve said it before; this isn’t a regular case for us. You’re too close to the situation and you can’t think rationally because Erin’s involved. And Erin’s pushing you away because of it.” Al finished.

 

Voight sighed heavily. “I’m trying to protect her.”

 

“I know. I bet Erin knows it too. But she’s your daughter so she’s not going to be easy to rein in. You’ve taught her a lot about keeping herself safe. We’ll find her before Charlie does, but we’re not going to be able to do it if you’re throwing punches around and yelling at us.” Olinsky pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look, if you’re okay with it, I think I should be the point man on this. You can’t call the shots when you’re so close to this.”

 

Voight opened his mouth to say something but stopped and nodded slightly instead.

 

“I’ll run everything past you but you can’t be the one making the hard decisions. It’s not going to work.” Olinsky reasoned. He knew Voight wouldn’t easily give up the reins but the incident in the bullpen must have scared Voight too. Voight mumbled in agreement.

 

“You’re right, you know? I don’t trust her.” Voight admitted. “I tried but I just don’t know how to.”

 

Al sat down next to his friend and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “You’ll learn.”

 

* * *

 

Erin accepted the beer Alison handed to her. She definitely needed this. Alison settled on the armchair opposite Erin and gave her a friendly nudge.

 

“So, tell me about Mr Mystery.” Alison prompted. Erin rolled her eyes.

 

“Yeah, that is over.” Erin made a face and Alison pouted in reply.

 

“The cute guy from the party? He seemed so nice.”

 

“Yeah, if you like liars.” Erin said with an eyebrow raise.

 

“Oh god. What did he lie about?”

 

“He…” Erin paused. How honest was she going to be? If she told Alison about Jay being a cop, she’d have to tell her about her dad and then Charlie and her habit and rehab and her mom dying and everything else Erin had tried hard to move on from. “He just wasn’t who he said he was.”

 

“Aw, babe, that sucks. Was he cheating?” Alison pried. Erin forgot that Alison loved drama. She knew she could count on Alison not to say anything to anyone else but she also knew Alison couldn’t resist knowing absolutely everything if there was a whiff of excitement about it.

 

“No, no, he just lied and it’s over and I don’t ever want to see him again.” Erin took a long swig of her beer, hoping that Alison would get the hint and move onto something else. Alison just looked at her and gave a supportive smile. “My ex-boyfriend is following me.” Erin told her before she could stop herself. Alison’s mouth dropped open.

 

“Jason?”

 

“No, no. Someone from high school. We had a bad break up and he went away for a while but he’s back and he’s not letting me forget it.”

 

“We need to call the police!” Alison said. Erin shook her head.

 

“They know. It’s not an option. I think he’s gone now anyway.” Erin dismissed. She knew he was probably still around but she didn’t need Alison worrying about it. “So that is kind of why I want to hide out somewhere else for a while. Jason lied and my ex is back so I am just done with being me for a while.” Erin confessed. Alison offered her a reassuring squeeze of her hand.  

 

“Well, in that case, I vote we should just get super drunk and have a great sleepover. I will get something way stronger than beer and we will order twice as much pizza.” Alison said putting her shoes on. “The liquor store is just downstairs. You wanna hang up here? I’ll be ten minutes.”

 

“No problem. I’ll hold the fort.” Erin chuckled. “Hey, I lost my phone. Can I use your laptop to check my emails?”

 

“Sure, the laptop’s on the coffee table. Password is on the post it.”

 

“You put your password on a post-it?”  


“This way if I get kidnapped or hit by a bus, the police can submit my thesis for me.” Alison said as she looked for her purse. “I don’t want them having to spend valuable resources trying to hack into my stuff.”

 

Erin read the post-it and rolled her eyes. “You think the police couldn’t figure out your password is the name of your cat and the year you were born?”

 

“Tax dollars, Erin. Tax dollars.” Alison called as she left her apartment.

 

Erin shook her head, finding it good to be able to laugh again. God, how long had it been since she had laughed? She should have hung out with Alison more.

 

Erin signed into her email account and glanced through her inbox. Most of them were junk but there was one from a professor reminding the class about post-midterm reviews, one from the library informing her that a book she’d checked out last month was now overdue, and two from the gym about scheduled classes that week and a new yoga class starting up soon.

 

With a bored sigh, she signed out of her email and logged into Facebook. She hardly used the thing but she had nothing else to do and she knew Alison had posted photos from her party a few weeks ago. Most of the photos Erin had been tagged in had been before Jay, Burgess and Roman had arrived that night, though there was one where Erin was in the background and talking to Jay. Erin remembered a brief conversation she had with Alison a few days after the party where Alison mentioned if Jay was on Facebook but they had been interrupted by a mutual friend and Erin had forgotten to ask or look him up herself.

 

Erin began typing in ‘Jason Moore’ in the search bar before remembering that it was an alias. Instead she typed in ‘Jay Halstead’, unsure if Jay was short for anything like Jayden or Jason.  She probably would never know now.

 

Jay’s profile was third on the list. His profile photo was a motorbike but she figured it out from his hometown of Joilet. Unfortunately his profile was set to private so photos and updates were sparse. His cover photo was of a cabin near a lake. She figured that was his grandfather’s Wisconsin cabin.

 

So he had been telling the truth. Sort of.

 

She scrolled down and saw a photo of four figures fishing. She figured they were Jay, his brother, his dad and his grandfather. Erin suddenly felt her cheeks flush warm and her heart felt like it could burst out of her chest at any moment.

 

_It’s the beer, it’s the beer_ , she told herself and she closed down the tab immediately, forcing it from her mind.

 

Erin was an idiot to let herself get drawn back into that. He might have told her the truth about his family but it didn’t excuse anything else that he had done. He was still someone other than who he’d told her he was. That would never change.

 

The lock on the front door turned and Alison reappeared with a brown bag in her hand. “I’m baaaack!” She sang happily. Erin closed the lid of Alison’s laptop and put it back on the coffee table as Alison came towards her and pulled out a bottle of tequila.

 

“No way!” Erin protested at the suggestion. Alison smiled and nodded her head.

 

“You need to relax and forget about your boy troubles. You’re done with midterms and you’re a single woman. We should be celebrating.” Alison explained as she found two glasses in her kitchen and poured out way more than a shot of tequila in both. She thrust one glass towards Erin and insisted she take it. “And honestly? You look like you need it.”

 

Erin rolled her eyes and drank, wincing when it burned her throat. She coughed.

 

“Drink up!” Alison called as she dialed a number on the phone. “I’m ordering like three pizzas so you better work up an appetite.” She said. Erin finished the rest of her glass and let Alison pour more tequila into it.

 

“This is a bad idea,” Erin warned, “but to hell with it.” She clinked her glass against Alison’s and drank.

 

* * *

 

 

Jay’s whole face hurt. He tried to flex his jaw to ease the stiffness setting in but it was painful and the pack of ice he had on his face was not helping much.

 

“You look like hell.” Ruzek said. Jay gave him an unamused look.

 

“This has been the worst week ever.” Jay groaned as he removed the ice pack from his face.

 

“I mean, technically, it’s only been three days since she found out so…” Atwater said but when Jay glared at him, he stopped. “Never mind.”

 

Jay let out a heavy sigh. “Maybe I should just leave now. Voight doesn’t want me here.”

 

“You have to stay, dude. We barely had many leads to begin with, and now Erin’s disappeared, we’ve got even more work to do. Don’t let Voight scare you off.” Ruzek told him. “And that kinda goes for your resignation too. We’ll stick up for you.”

 

“No, no. I need to go. There’s no way I can work here after this. Voight’s not going to want me around. This black eye is going to be proof of that.” Jay told them.

 

Olinsky appeared at the door. “Jay, can I have a minute?” Ruzek and Atwater took their cue to leave and left Jay with Olinsky in the break room. Olinsky pulled up the chair opposite Jay and sat down.

 

“I’m okay, Al.” Jay offered. “It looks worse than it is.”

 

Jay hadn’t actually seen what it looked like but he knew it wasn’t going to be pretty. He’d seen Voight punch before and he knew what kind of power it packed. Voight had practiced enough. And Jay was lying a little. It hurt like hell but he wasn’t going to let anyone know that.

 

“Look, I want to apologize on Voight’s behalf. He shouldn’t have hit you and what happened today wasn’t your fault.”

 

“Al, I’m not going to report him to Internal Affairs if that’s what you’re asking.” Jay replied. Even though he was well within his rights to, Jay wasn’t going to drag this out any further. He was going to finish the case and leave Chicago all behind him. He didn’t need to get caught up in red tape.

 

“You should! Anyone else in your position would. And he’ll apologize to you. Maybe not today, but once everything else is settled, he’ll make it right.” Olinsky promised.

 

“I appreciate you checking in on me, but it’s fine. I don’t need you to cover for him. I’ll stay out of his way if he stays out of mine. I’ll help as much as I can but I’m not going to take the blame. Erin ran! I had no chance to-”

 

“I know, I know. I’ve told him the same. We just have to try our best to find her or Charlie first. Then we’ll straighten everything else out.” Olinsky promised. Jay gave a nod of understanding but wasn’t overly happy with the situation. He was still determined to keep as much distance between him and Voight as possible for the duration of the case or until he left.

 

“Guys!” Mouse called from his seat. “I think I might have something!”

 

Jay and Al leapt to their feet and were by Mouse’s desk within seconds, while Ruzek ran to tell Voight. Mouse was transfixed on his laptop and Jay willed him to hurry along. Voight emerged from his office and joined the group. Jay tried not to bristle at his appearance and kept his eyes focused on his friend instead.

 

“I sent an email to Erin’s email address. It looked like an email from the campus gym so I knew she’d probably read it. Once she opened the email, it sent me an alert like a read receipt but she wouldn’t know that. The alert just came through so that means she’s checked her email and I have the IP address of wherever she is.”

 

“You can get the actual address?” Olinsky asked.

 

“It might take some time to narrow it down to one address but we should get a general area and then try and get as close as possible.” Mouse said.

 

“Great work, Mouse.” Al said before turning to the rest of the team. “Alright, I’m going to be in charge of this case until it’s solved. Mouse will work to get the address, and Jay, you’re helping him with anything he needs.” Jay gave a nod and stuck by Mouse’s desk.

 

“I’ll have jobs for the rest of you, but for now, this is our only lead to find Erin and we’re going to find her first.”

 

The others broke away to await further instructions and Olinsky made eye contact with Voight, who gave a curt nod before disappearing into his office and closing the door behind him.

 

* * *

 

Erin was on her way to getting extremely drunk. She could feel the heaviness in her legs but her head felt like it was floating and her skin felt like it was buzzing.  Alison was laughing about something that Erin hadn’t heard but her laughter was contagious and Erin felt herself dissolve into giggles.

 

Alison, who had been lying on the floor, sat up and tugged at Erin’s shirt. “Let’s go out.” She suggested. Erin made a face and shook her head.

 

“I don’t know.” Erin replied. She didn’t want to leave the sanctity of Alison’s apartment but she was feeling a little bit of cabin fever. She needed to walk off that tequila.

 

“Come onnnnnn,” Alison pleaded. “We won’t go far. I just want to go and dance.”

 

“You can dance here.”

 

“I want to dance and get more drinks and get out of my apartment.” Alison explained. “Please come. We’ll go to that club on the corner we went to last time. Who is going to be able to find you in a club full of a hundred people? I _swear_ we’ll be back within an hour.”

 

Erin knew that was a lie but part of her also wanted to dance and forget everything that had happened in the past few weeks. Alison was right too. Her dad had taught her that the best place to get lost was within a crowd. She’d probably be safer there than at Alison’s apartment.

 

“One hour.” Erin said just to feel like she was putting her foot down. Alison cheered and grabbed Erin’s hand, pulling her up and towards her bedroom.

 

Erin could feel the room begin to spin from the sudden movement and she lay across Alison’s bed while her friend looked through her closet. Alison threw a blue dress next to Erin and then a yellow one. “I don’t want to change.” She told her friend.

 

“No offence, but you look like shit and no guy is going to want to make out with you if you don’t at least run a comb through your hair. It looks like you crawled through a bush.” Alison said. Erin was about to tell her she wasn’t far off, remembering her antics trying to escape from her dad’s goons, but she took Alison’s advice instead and chose the blue dress to wear.

 

Before Erin could register what was happening, she was in a dress and walking arm-in-arm with Alison towards the elevators.

 

* * *

 

Erin couldn’t hear what Alison was saying because the music was way louder than she remembered and she could feel the vibrations from the speakers thumping through her entire body. Alison was saying something about a guy at the bar but Erin couldn’t see whoever it was she was referring to.

 

“What are you saying?” Erin asked but Alison turned towards the bartender and ordered them two beers. Erin glanced around but gave up. Whoever it was, it wasn’t Charlie or Jay so she was going to try and ignore it.

 

“I’ll be back,” Alison told her. Erin wanted to follow her friend but they had two drinks coming and she wasn’t going to leave them unattended. She watched Alison move through the crowd and disappear towards the bathrooms and then the bartender put two bottles next to Erin. She paid for the beer and put a coaster over Alison’s while she waited. Without a phone or friend to keep her occupied, she was forced to watch everyone else dancing and hanging out at the bar.

 

Alison had been right; there was no way anyone could find her here. Even if her dad had sent someone to Alison’s, they weren’t there. This was probably the safest place she could find. It didn’t stop her from keeping an eye out for anyone who looked vaguely familiar just in case.

 

After ten minutes, Erin had enough of waiting and got worried. She took their drinks from the bar and walked carefully through the crowd towards where Alison had gone. There was no line for the bathroom so Erin looked in and called Alison’s name. The three girls in the bathroom shook their heads when Erin asked if they had seen anyone of Alison’s description leave.

 

Worried, Erin decided to do another walk of the club and make her way back to the bar in case they had missed each other’s path. Just before she got to the bar, she spotted Alison talking to a guy in the corner of the club. Relieved, she made her way to her friend and nudged her shoulder.

 

“There you are!” She said, trying to hide her fear and frustration. She handed Alison her beer and gestured towards the guy Alison was talking to. “Who’s this?” The guy was pretty skinny but short. He had a beanie on and a lip ring. He gave Erin a once over and narrowed his eyes.

 

“Do I know you?” He asked, a glimmer of recognition crossing his features. Erin flushed and turned away.

 

“No.” She said immediately. “What’s going on?” Erin turned her attention on her friend.

 

Alison held up a finger at Erin before turning back to the guy. She pulled out a twenty dollar bill from her purse and handed it to the guy. Erin’s eyes widened and she tried grabbing onto Alison’s hand.

 

“What are you doing?” Erin demanded. The guy managed to get the bill and looked again at Erin.

 

“I’ll be seeing you.” He said before disappearing. Erin looked at the guy, annoyed at his words but even more irritated at her friend.

 

“What are you doing?” Erin asked again. Alison held a small bag of pills in her hand. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

 

“Oh, come on! We’re done with midterms and you wanted to relax.”

 

“Yeah, with a drink and a movie. Not whatever those are!” Erin said trying to grab the bag from Alison’s hand.

 

“Hey, come on, you don’t have to do them. It’ll be way more fun if you do but I’m only trying to have a little fun.”

 

“Alison, you can’t mess with those. Come on,” Erin pleaded. “Let’s go home.”

 

“No!” Alison pulled away from Erin. “I want to stay.”

 

“Okay, we can stay but don’t take those. Have you ever taken them?” Erin asked. She never knew Alison to have taken any drugs. Alison was her good influence friend.

 

“Yeah, like in high school and a few times in college. Everyone does them. We’re just going to enhance tonight’s experience.” Alison reasoned.

 

“I’m not letting you take those.” Erin said. “I know what they do to people and we’ve been drinking. Just give them to me and I’ll give them to you later.” Erin held out her hand.

 

Alison held tightly onto the bag but eventually relented. “I thought you were fun.” She complained as she let Erin take them from her.

 

“I am fun but tonight I’m saving your life.” Erin told her, tucking the bag into her purse. Alison glowered at her and stalked off towards the dance floor with Erin following closely behind. Erin knew she had to get herself and Alison out of this club but she also knew she wasn’t going to be able to drag Alison out.

 

At least not yet.

 

* * *

 

Atwater and Antonio were running up the stairs to Alison’s apartment with the Super in tow. It had taken Mouse a while to get as close to the source as possible but Halstead had recognized Alison’s street address and it was a pretty good likelihood that Erin was camping out there.

 

Antonio found the apartment first and knocked on the door. Atwater watched the hallway as Antonio tried again. After no answer, Antonio signaled to the Super and got him to open the door. The lights were off and Antonio ventured in first, turning on the light. There was no-one in sight.

 

“I’ll check the bedroom.” Atwater said as the Super stood awkwardly in the hallway. Antonio looked around the living room, spotting the bottle of tequila on the table and empty glasses and pizza boxes. He picked up Alison’s laptop and read the post-it on top. He typed in the password and read out the IP address to Mouse, who confirmed that it was indeed a match to the one sent earlier through Erin’s email.

 

“No-one is here.” Atwater said as he came back. “There’s Erin clothes in the room so it looks like she changed her clothes but she was definitely here.”

 

“You think anything happened?” Antonio asked. Atwater looked at their surroundings and gestured to the discarded drinks.

 

“No, it looks like they went out. The door was locked, the lights were closed. If they were taken, they wouldn’t have been so considerate. They’ve left.” Antonio sighed.

 

“I’ll call it in.” Atwater said. “Back to square one.”

 

* * *

 

 

Erin let herself out of the club and took in a deep breath of cold air. The club was packed and between her drinks and the dancing, she was burning hot. The front entrance had been too far but there was a back exit where smokers usually gathered. Thankfully it was mostly empty.

 

Alison had sort of forgiven her for taking the pills and was currently waiting in the line for the bathroom. Erin had promised to return within a few minutes but she was in desperate need of fresh air. Part of her thought she was going to throw up; the beer finally making contact with the tequila and the two were not mixing well on a stomach full of greasy pizza. Once she got back inside, she was going to drag Alison home. There was no way she could last much longer.

 

Taking in some more fresh air, Erin ran her hands through her hair and tried to brush the sweaty locks away from her face.

 

She smelled something smoky and gagged. A hand suddenly gripped tightly on her arm.

 

She turned to find the skinny guy who sold Alison the pills and another much taller guy standing in front of her. Erin tried to pull away but the taller guy’s grip was strong and she couldn’t shake free.

 

“I remember you now.” The skinny guy was saying. “You used to deal for Charlie before he got put away.” Erin could remember him now too. He was one of the runners that ran with Charlie’s crew. Erin hadn’t been around much with him but his name was Wayne or Wade or something.

 

“You’ve got the wrong girl.” Erin tried but the skinny guy grinned and shook his head.

 

“Don’t even bother trying it.” He said before gesturing to the other guy. They started pulling Erin away from the club. “Charlie’s excited to see you.”

 

Erin turned back to try and shout for help but a hand clamped over her mouth and she couldn’t scream.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a slightly different chapter. It focuses on several flashback moments with Erin and Voight.

The music felt like it was erupting from beneath the wooden floors of the house. Erin stood in the kitchen, pouring herself a vodka tonic and getting the measurements completely wrong. This was the first party in a month that she’d been invited to and she was going to try and make the most of it. She had heard the rumors about her; some of her classmates were not subtle about their nickname for her.

 

_Narc_.

 

Erin had rolled her eyes at it but it stung her. It wasn’t easy having a cop as a father, let alone a sergeant who was the definition of ‘overprotective’.

 

She tried her best to brush off the rumors and laugh about them but she hadn’t been oblivious to how many parties she had only heard about _after_ they’d happened. She wanted to point out the fact that there had been many parties she had attended that _hadn’t_ been broken up by the police but it was useless. So Erin pretended not to care.

 

Thankfully, her friend Lydia had thrown a party while her mom was out of town for business and Erin was definitely on the invite list. But it didn’t mean that people would necessarily want to hang out with her.

 

Erin mixed her drink using a straw and watched the rest of the party goers. She didn’t know everyone here; Lydia was one of her newer friends. She had become distant from her other friends after the accident. Erin couldn’t stand seeing sympathy stamped all over their stupid faces all the time. So they had drifted apart and Erin had found new friends who didn’t know about her dead mom and dead brother.

 

She preferred it that way.

 

“Erin!” Lydia’s voice called from behind her. Erin turned to see Lydia standing next to a very tall, very handsome guy. “I want to introduce you to someone.” Lydia gestured to the tall guy and gave Erin a playful wink.

 

“I’m Erin.” Erin extended her hand out to the guy. The guy smirked and shook her hand.

 

“I’m Charlie.” He said. His voice was deep with a slight rasp like hers, and Erin bit her lip. “What are you drinkin’?”

 

Erin couldn’t believe how interesting Charlie was. He was twenty-one and gorgeous. No other guy in her high school was half as good-looking or interested in her. Charlie had travelled to Canada all by himself. He was an adult.

 

Charlie wasn’t much of a dancer but he knew how to mix real drinks and had made them for her.

 

She was pretty drunk at this point and completely aware of how much she was giggling. At least he didn’t seem to mind.

 

Blue lights flashed from outside followed by a short wail of a siren.

 

“COPS!” someone yelled from the front lawn. Everyone in the house began to scatter like cockroaches. Erin felt Charlie grab her hand and pull her outside through to the back yard. Erin had never been to Lydia’s house before but it looked like Charlie had because he knew exactly which way to run.

 

The fresh air hit her suddenly and Erin gripped Charlie’s hand as he led her to where his car was parked. She could see a tattoo peeking out from beneath his sleeve and her heart thumped harder.

 

“Oh, I thought you’d have a motorcycle.” She said without realizing she was saying it out loud. Charlie turned back at her.

 

“I do – it’s in the shop. This is my brother’s car.” He told her. “Get in.” Erin got into the passenger side and belted up. Charlie gave her an amused look and belted up too. “Wanna go somewhere?” he asked.

 

Erin froze and stupidly replied with “I have a curfew.” She hated herself as soon as she said it but she was still tipsy from the drinks and her heart was beating so fast from the mix of alcohol, the cops, the crisp winter air, and Charlie, that she felt like she could have a heart attack at any moment.

 

Charlie tried to hide his surprise – Erin guessed not many girls turned him down, but he just asked for her address and before she knew it, they were zooming down the road and away from the busted party.

 

They parked up a few doors away from her house and Charlie kept the engine running. He didn’t say anything and Erin didn’t know what to say except to thank him, and then she tried to get out of the car whilst still belted up. She groaned when she realized and he gave a low chuckle.

 

“I’ll see you around.” He said.

 

In her head, Erin tried to come up with a witty reply. Something that would make him remember her and want to see her again. Instead, she just nodded and got out of the car. She shut the door and turned towards her house. She heard the engine rev and speed down the street.

 

Erin wanted to see him again so desperately.

 

* * *

 

Erin could feel her smile radiating from her even in the winter air. It had been a month since she had met Charlie and she couldn’t get enough of him. They had been at a bar with his friends and then they’d spent some time in the backseat of his car. She had never felt so much excitement in her life.

 

Her joy was shortlived, however, when Erin spotted her dad’s car in the driveway and inwardly sighed. This wouldn’t end well.

 

Thought her last drink had been over an hour ago, she was still a little tipsy. Erin popped a mint in her mouth to mask the mix of alcohol and cigarettes and then sniffed her jacket. If she was lucky, her dad might not be able to smell the smoke.

 

Erin turned the key in the lock and gently pushed the door open. She had hoped that her dad might be asleep already, but she saw the light gleaming in the kitchen and her heart sank slightly. She wasn’t in the mood to argue.

 

She hadn’t even managed to get to the first stair before her dad emerged from the darkness of the living room. Erin let out a shriek.

 

“God, dad! You scared me.” She gestured towards the kitchen. “I thought you were in there.”

 

“It’s after midnight, where were you?” He demanded. Erin turned from her dad to take her jacket off.

 

“I was at Lydia’s.” She told him coolly. She wasn’t technically lying. She had been at Lydia’s earlier that day but Charlie had picked her up around six and they had gone to the bar with his friends.

 

“Look at my eyes when you’re answering me.”

 

“You don’t have to interrogate me.” Erin retorted. “I’m not a suspect.”

 

“No, but you’re my daughter and you’ll answer me in the way I ask you to.” Voight’s worry about his daughter’s whereabouts was rapidly transforming into rage at her brusque attitude.

 

 “What are you doing here anyway? You told me you’d be home late.”

 

“The guy confessed. Case closed.” As Erin began walking towards the stairs again, he stepped in front. “Don’t walk away from me when I’m talking to you. Where were you?”

 

“I told you I was at Lydia’s! What’s the big deal?” She said with a groan.

 

“When I come home late at night, I expect you to be here; or at least know where you are.”

 

“I left a message.”

 

“No, you didn’t.”

 

“I called the precinct.”

 

“You didn’t ca-” Voight let out a frustrated sigh. He didn’t want to go around in circles with Erin. Not when it was already late and he’d had a terrible day. “Your school called and said you cut class today.”

 

Erin paused before replying. “It was only last period.”

 

“You shouldn’t be cutting at all. I expect you to be at school during school hours.”

 

“You are ‘expecting’ a lot of me lately.” Erin spat. “You’re my dad, I _expect_ you to be home at a reasonable hour too. I _expect_ us to have dinner together more than once a week. You’re never home, dad. Do you _expect_ me to come home to an empty house and wait all night for you so you can yell at me about something?” She crossed her arms. “I cut study hall because all the juniors cut it when it’s last period. I went to Lydia’s to hang out and do homework. I had dinner with her family and I’m late because we were watching movies and I fell asleep.”

 

Voight didn’t say anything. His eyes stared back at hers and his mouth opened slightly before settling into a tight line.

 

“You don’t go to Lydia’s or anyone else’s house without my express permission.” He told her. She rolled her eyes again.

 

“Fine.” She said as she jogged up the stairs and left her father behind.

 

Her bedroom door slammed a few moments later. Voight didn’t mention that he could smell the alcohol on her breath.

 

* * *

 

Erin wasn’t worried about being in a bar underage—she’d been to bars before. But walking into a bar with Charlie seemed different. Like she belonged there somehow. Nobody would really bat an eyelid seeing her there if she was with him. He strolled into the bar like he owned it and they settled into a booth near the back. His hand was still grasping hers and she gave it a small squeeze. He turned back with a lazy grin and squeezed it back.

 

Charlie had text her earlier that night and told her to look out of her window. He was standing in her back yard. Erin had snuck out of her bedroom window several times before and was now pretty good at it. It was becoming a habit and she knew she would be caught eventually, but she was having fun with Charlie and her dad was working late most nights. He didn’t need to know.

 

Charlie was more than she thought. He wasn’t just a guy with a motorbike and tattoos. He knew people and he always had a group of friends around him. Sometimes it annoyed her, preferring to spend time with him alone, but she always had fun and it was so exciting being out with him. No-one in her high school held a candle to him.

 

When they were alone, he was sweet and flattering. She had dated guys before but Charlie was the first real boyfriend she’d had. He bought her gifts, picked her up from school most days, and even ocassionally helped her with her homework.

 

More than anything, he was _there_.

 

He wasn’t an empty house. He wasn’t a microwave meal or another night alone because a body had been found.

 

Charlie listened to her stories about her day. He made her dinner (not well, but he tried). He took her to clubs, listening to music she had never heard before but could _feel_ she knew the songs in her bones. Tonight, one of his friends had offered her a white pill of something that she didn’t know. She had refused but Charlie laughed and took it instead, and he had been so sweet to her and his smile hadn’t faded all night. Like he was having the time of his life. She had felt a tinge of envy but shook it from her mind. She couldn’t mess with pills like that.

 

“You should take a chance next time.” He had told her in her ear, pressing her gently against the wall of her bedroom. Her dad had text to say he was working late on a shooting and probably wouldn’t see her until she was on her way to school the next morning. That was three hours from now.

 

“I don’t take pills.” She told him in between kisses. He laughed in her ear.

 

“You’re no fun.” He teased. “I’m plenty fun.”

 

“My dad’s a cop.” She reminded him. “I can’t.”

 

“Oh, but it’s so much more fun when you shouldn’t.” He growled, earning a laugh from her. “What he doesn’t know can’t hurt.” He said, pulling away from Erin and lying down on her bed. “He doesn’t know I’m here and I’ll be gone by the time he gets in. He won’t know a thing. Isn’t that exciting?” He asked.

 

Erin considered it for a moment. “Okay, well I’ll think about it next time.” She said by way of compromise. “But I’m not that type of girl.” She said. She had been so responsible until recently: homework, after school clubs, even mentoring middle schoolers. But she admitted she was having more fun now. Maybe she could have a little more.

 

Charlie reached for Erin’s arm and pulled her down on her bed. “So show me what type of girl you are.”

 

* * *

 

Erin was getting a headache. She had been standing near a speaker for almost ten minutes and it was driving her nuts. She wanted to move but this was her spot and she wasn’t supposed to move until she was told to.

 

“Hey!” A voice behind her yelled. She winced as the sound cut through her brain, exacerbating her headache. “You cool?”

 

Erin turned to see Trig, one of Charlie’s friends. She didn’t like him much but she gave him a tight smile and nodded. Trig pointed behind him to a slim guy in a blue hat. At least it looked blue under the club’s pulsing lights.

 

“Got one here.” Trig leant into her ear. “Hundred for a gram, okay?” She nodded back. Trig took a step back and ushered the guy in the blue hat to come forward. Erin slipped her fingers in her purse and pulled out a small bag, tucking it into her hand. The guy in the blue hat nodded towards her and said something.

 

“What?” Erin couldn’t hear what he was saying. The music was too loud and her head was pounding to the beat.

 

“I said I can’t really think.” The guy said. “The music’s too loud.”

 

“Yeah,” Erin replied. She wasn’t in the mood for small talk but she had to make a sale. “So Trig told you the price?”

 

“What?” The blue hat guy asked as the DJ whooped into the mic. He and Erin both made a face as the whooping sound droned through the speakers. “I can’t hear you.”

 

“I said did Trig fill you in?” Erin yelled back. The blue hat guy nodded again. “Show me the money.”

 

Blue hat guy discreetly pulled out two $50 bills from his pocket and tucked it between his middle and index fingers.

 

Erin looked behind blue hat guy and towards Trig who was standing a few paces behind. Trig gave a nod and Erin nodded back.

 

“Okay,” she said. She grabbed blue hat guy’s hand and pulled the bills out. Her other hand crept into his jeans pocket and slipped the bag in. “Done.”

 

Blue hat guy put his hand in the pocket and pulled out the bag inspecting the white powder.

 

“Hey, put that away!” She hissed at him and pushed his hand down. She looked over for Trig but he had already turned away.

 

“Look, I’ve never done this before.” Blue hat guy said. “I don’t know what to do with it.”

 

Erin looked at him. “You got another bill on you?” She asked. He nodded. “Have you seen a movie before?” He frowned but nodded. “Work it out, genius.” She shook her head.

 

“You wanna do some?” He asked.

 

“No.” She said quickly. She winced again as the music changed and a new beat started blaring through the speakers. Her throat was starting to fill with bile from the nausea.

 

“You okay?” He asked. She pointed at her head. “I can get you a water if you want. I need one too.”

 

She looked for Trig but he was still looking elsewhere. “I need to be here.”

 

“Come on, two minutes. There’s an exit here.” Blue hat guy said. Erin glanced again from Trig or Charlie or anyone but no-one was there. Two minutes couldn’t hurt. She wanted to be anywhere but here with the booming music or under the glaring lights.

 

She let the blue hat guy usher her towards an emptier area. Already she could feel the nausea abating as she moved away from the noise. A bottle of water was put into her hand and she checked the cap. It was unopened so she unscrewed it and took a few gulps, sighing in relief. Away from the heat of the crowd, she could feel sweat dampening her skin.

 

“You feeling better?” Blue hat guy asked. Erin nodded and took another swig and screwed the cap back on. “Good.”

 

Erin felt her arm being firmly twisted and pressed into her back, quickly followed by the other.

 

“You’re under arrest. You have the right to remain silent…”

 

“Wait, what?” Erin cried as the blue hat guy placed handcuffs on her. “What’s going on?” A man and woman she had seen dancing nearby appeared with a very unhappy Trig in tow. Trig had also been arrested. “What’s going on?” she asked again but this time towards Trig.

 

“Shut up.” He barked at her. “I knew you were trouble. I warned him.”

 

Erin frowned in confusion. “What?” She tried resisting when blue hat guy started leading her through a side exit but was warned not to make it harder.

 

As she felt the cool air outside, she saw the police van flashing blue lights and one of the girls she knew being led inside in handcuffs. Erin approached the van and led towards the back.

 

“Where are you taking us?” She asked her arresting officer.

 

“District 16.” Blue hat guy replied.

 

“You need to call my dad.” She pleaded.

 

“You’ll get your phone call at the precinct.”

 

“Get a message to District 21,” she told blue hat guy. “Ask for Sergeant Voight.”

 

Blue hat guy didn’t reply and the doors to the police van shut with a clang.

 

Erin hadn’t been at the precinct for more than twenty minutes when her dad arrived. An officer came to her cell and told her she was going to Interview Room C. Her dad was already there when she entered.

  
“Dad!” she said. “I’m-” He held a hand up to his lips. She stopped talking as the officer released her from her handcuffs and left the room, shutting it behind her and leaving Erin with her dad.

 

Voight didn’t make a move towards her. He was standing up and put his hands into his pocket. After a few moments of silence, she cleared her throat.

 

“Dad,” she tried again.

 

“How long?” He asked. He couldn’t even look at her.

 

“A couple of months.” She replied.

 

“Are you using?”

 

“Dad, I-”

 

“Are you using?” he asked firmly.

 

“No!” She replied. “I swear.”

 

“Who put you up to this?”

 

“Nobody.”

 

“What, you decided to sell all by yourself?” Voight shook his head. “You better tell me, Erin. You’ve got no leg to stand on here. You don’t lie to me when you’re standing here in handcuffs. Don’t protect them.”

 

“I’m not. I’m just saying that it’s not a big deal really.”

 

Voight stared at her. “Are you really this stupid? Being caught dealing coke to an undercover cop isn’t a big deal?”

 

“I made a mistake.”

 

“Erin, a mistake is denting the car or missing the deadline for a paper. This isn’t a mistake you made one time.” He let out a frustrated groan. “Do you know how many strings I had to pull to stop them processing you?”

 

“You stopped them?” Erin felt relief wash over her.

 

“Yes, because you’re a minor and because you have your whole life ahead of you. Do you know how badly you messed up?” Voight asked. “They’ve got the others brought in with you but because you didn’t make the transaction, you can go.”

 

Erin frowned. “But I did-”

 

“No, _you_ didn’t.” He told her plainly. His eyes were steely and Erin suddenly remembered who she was looking at.

 

“Dad…”

 

“We’re going home now, Erin. But I’m telling you this once. You are going to stop hanging out with those people—all of them—starting now. I’m giving you one pass because I get one pass in these sorts of situations. I’m not going to be made a fool out of. From now on, you go to school and come straight back home. Your friends can come over to study but you can’t go to theirs unless I give you permission. I’m going to keep a close eye on you because you’re going to need to be protected. You think these guys will protect you? They’re going to come after you because you’re related to me. I need you safe so you need to keep yourself safe.” He told her.

 

“Okay.”

 

Voight didn’t reply. He knocked on the door and thanked the officer. Erin followed him out of the interview room and towards the processing bank where she was given back her purse and personal belongings.

 

For someone who was promising to keep an eye on her, he didn’t look at her the entire way home.

 

* * *

 

Erin was furious. She heard her father’s car pull into the driveway and she stood waiting at the foot of the stairs. He opened the front door and greeted her before noticing the sour expression on her face.

 

“How _dare_ you!” she yelled before he could even ask what the matter was. “You’re insane!”

 

“What did I do now?” he asked.

 

“You’ve already shackled me to this house but you still need to send officers to follow me home?” Erin demanded to know. “I know what an unmarked patrol car looks like, dad. They’re not subtle.”

 

Voight sighed. “What did you expect me to do? You’ve been skipping school entirely with that Charlie guy. Don’t even try and deny it. I live in this house too. I know about it all.”

 

“That’s not an excuse to have me followed. I know you used to do it before.”

 

“And yet you still ended up dealing coke so that worked out well.” Voight replied. “Erin, I need to know I can trust you.”

 

“So trust me!”

 

“I can’t!”

 

“You mean you won’t.” She countered.

 

“I mean, you’re a closed book and I can’t seem to get it through your head that you need to be protected.” Voight explained. “I know what’s out there, Erin. I deal with it every day.”

 

“That’s no reason to treat me like a toddler. I can get to school and home by myself. Is it a big deal?”

 

“It’s a big deal when you think about who you’re spending that time with.” Voight asked. “I’ve told you before to stay away from those friends of yours and you’re intentionally defying my orders. You promised you’d only go to school and then home. You’ve broken that promise so I’m doing what I need to do. He’s bad news, Erin.”

 

“So you’d rather keep me prisoner in this godforsaken house?!” Erin yelled. “I’m almost an adult but I’m not trusted to even have windows that aren’t bolted down. What’s going to happen when I go to college? GPS trackers? Am I going to have cop as a study buddy? Do you want me to stay here for the rest of my life? Just you and me in this big house with a room that we keep locked?” She gestured towards the stairs; towards Justin’s room. The ghost they lived with.

 

Voight’s eyes narrowed and he tensed his jaw. “Don’t bring that up. We’re not talking about that.”

 

Erin rolled her eyes. “Well, maybe we should. It’s been three years already. Justin used to sneak out all the time and you never cared.”

 

“I cared!” Voight snapped, incensed that his daughter could insinuate such a thing.

 

“It’s not like you showed it. That time he snuck out to the party at near Jefferson Park and passed out on the neighbor’s front lawn, you only grounded him for a week.”

 

“He wasn’t picked up for dealing coke,” Voight reminded Erin.

 

“Let it go, dad. It’s not like I’m still doing it.”

 

“And I’m going to make sure of that. God, sometimes I wish-” Voight stopped himself and sighed.

 

Erin looked at him with a steely gaze. She swallowed hard.

 

“Finish that sentence.” She demanded. Voight look back at her quizzically.

 

“What? No, it doesn’t matter.” He dismissed. She shook her head.

 

“No, finish it. What were you going to say?” Her lip was quivering. She wasn’t shouting anymore. Her eyes filled with tears and she could barely see her father’s face through them. “Sometimes you wish what? That Justin was still here? That mom was still here?” She shook her head. “No, I think you were going to say something else.”

 

“Erin…”  Voight started towards her but Erin stepped back up the stairs.

 

“Sometimes you wish it had been me instead of Justin, right? At least you wouldn’t be so burdened with me.” Erin darted up the stairs and into her room. Voight ran up behind her but she had already locked herself in her room.

 

“Erin? Erin, that’s not what I was thinking. That’s _never_ crossed my mind.” He called through the closed door but it was no use. He tried a few times to knock but eventually gave up. At least Erin was locked in her room. She could hate him but nothing could hurt her there.

 

* * *

 

Charlie pressed his cheek close to hers. She loved it when he held her like that. She felt safe. Loved. Like she existed. Not just an entity floating around. It had taken some time for their relationship to get back on track after her arrest. Trig had gone to jail. Charlie hadn't been happy about it but Erin had tried to explain it wasn't anyone's fault. None of them had flagged an undercover cop. Things had been better recently. She wasn't dealing anymore, she refused to, but Charlie had said it was okay. He hadn't wanted her because he wanted her to deal. He had wanted _her_. His hand was wrapped around her stomach and he hummed happily. 

 

She wanted to stay there forever.

 

Almost like she had wished it into existence, she had wished it away. Within seconds his hand pulled away and the warmth of his body vanished. She turned around, pulling the covers over her, and watched Charlie sit up and lean over to the opposite side.

 

“Everything okay?” She asked. He was pulling something out of his shoe. “Charlie?”

 

Erin heard the sound of something opening and inwardly sighed. Did he have to do that right now? Erin turned away from him, trying to block out the sounds of what she knew was happening but desperately hoped to pretend it wasn’t.

 

“Yo, Erin.” Charlie called. She turned around to see his face close to hers. “Take a hit with me.”

 

“I told you already, Charlie.” She shook her head. “I can’t.”

 

He made a face. “Why not? Because your dad won’t let you?” He sucked at his thumb like a child and laughed. Erin didn’t find it funny. “He also told you not to see me again.” He walked his index and middle fingers up her bare arm. “You did that and a lot of other things I’m sure he doesn’t know about.” Erin felt him press a kiss to her shoulder. “What’s one more?”

 

“It’s different.” Erin replied with a heavy sigh. “I made a promise.” She mostly meant a promise to herself, not just her father, that she wouldn’t involve herself so deeply in things she didn’t trust. She’d already messed around with pills and that had been hard enough to shake.

 

She heard Charlie tut with annoyance. “I thought you were fun.”

 

Erin squeezed her eyes shut. She knew what he was doing but it still hurt. She hated how it made her feel. She already felt like a disappointment to her parents and she didn’t want to feel like one to her boyfriend.

 

“Fine.” She heard herself say as she sat up in the bed. “I’ll take a small one.” The smile that formed on his face made her flush. He planted a few quick kisses on her lips before preparing a small line for her. Erin could feel her face get hot and her palms were itching as she watched Charlie.

 

_This would be the only time_ , she promised herself.

 

He presented her with a dollar bill and a crisp white line on top of a small make-up mirror. She hesitated for a moment before reaching for the dollar. Erin felt Charlie’s thumb brush over her cheek.

 

“I love you,” he told her.

 

She couldn’t say it back.

 

* * *

 

Erin drummed her fingers in boredom. She was meant to be with Charlie and the crew tonight but her dad had caught her trying to sneak out of the bathroom window and grounded her. Although her dad had taken her cellphone, he had no idea about the other phone Charlie had given her. She was sure that he had already read gone through her text messages but he would only find messages to Lydia and other school friends. He couldn’t ground her for long if there was no evidence.

 

But Charlie had promised to call her and there had been nothing for over two hours. She was bored and anxious.

 

There was a knock at the door. “Erin, can I come in?” Her dad’s voice asked through the shut door.

 

Erin pushed her other phone under her pillow and told her dad to come in. She didn’t really want to see him but maybe he was in an apologetic mood and would renegotiate her grounding.

 

He had a bowl of ice cream in his hand. Erin brightened inwardly but made sure her face remained stoic. She was still mad at him after all. Voight offered her the bowl of ice cream and sat on the end of the bed.

 

“I need to tell you about something that happened tonight.” He started. Erin frowned in confusion before the hairs on back of her neck pricked up in fear. Those were the same words he had said when he broke the news of the accident that claimed the lives of her mom and brother.

 

“Is everything okay?” she asked in concern. “Dad?”

 

“While you were here tonight, a team went to an address near Riverdale and raided a property. They found a lot of cocaine and arrested a group of eight people, including three key players.” He began. Erin could feel her skin itch. “I think you know who I’m talking about.”

 

“Charlie?” She asked quietly. He nodded.

 

“I know that you’re in deep with this, Erin. I know you’ve been using, and I know that he’s given you a phone.” He told her. “I’ve known about that other phone for a while. That’s how we knew where they’d be tonight. And how I knew you were meant to be there. Why else do you think I was home so early? I knew you’d try and sneak out. There’s been a team following you guys for weeks so we knew where everything would happen. We built a case.”

 

Erin remained silent. He knew everything that she thought she’d done so well to hide.

 

“We could have gone in three days ago but you were there. I made sure you were out of it so they couldn’t arrest you. That’s why it happened tonight.” Voight reached out for her hand. “I need you to know that you’re going to be protected. I’m going to protect you but I need a few things from you.” He said.

 

“Dad, I don’t want to talk to you right now.” She managed to say. She was close to bursting into tears at this news. Her dad didn’t stop talking.

 

“It has to happen tonight, Erin, because Charlie knows you were involved and so does everyone else in that crew. You’re seventeen and they can send you to juvie. You need to sign a confession saying that Charlie pressured you to take cocaine and dealt to you while you were a minor.”

 

He pulled out a piece of paper and Erin pushed it away. She felt like she was going to throw up. How had everything turned upside down so quickly?

 

“If you sign it, we can avoid any jail time and maybe can get it off your record. Erin, you can still go to college without this hanging over you. But you need to listen to me.”

 

“Get away from me.” She told him. “I mean it.”

 

Voight pinched the bridge of his nose. “You need to listen.”

 

“I can’t believe you did this. Of all the things you’ve done, this is unbelievable.” She shook her head at him. “I love him!”

 

Voight groaned. “He doesn’t love you. He’s probably already named you as an associate, which is why you need to sign this as soon as possible, unless you want to spend the next four years in a jail cell instead of college.”

 

Erin watched the ice cream in the bowl melting. Untouched. It was her favorite flavor.

 

“Erin, you need to sign this and then you need to pack your bags.” He told her. “I’m sending you to rehab.”

 

“What?” Erin’s features darkened. “I don’t need rehab.”

 

“Yes, you do.”

 

“Dad, I hardly ever use. Maybe I take a bump every now and again.”

 

“I don’t want you taking a bump ever again.” Voight replied. “I’m not losing you to an addiction. You have to go, Erin. I won’t believe you can stop unless you go. Plus it’s the best way to keep you safe while we put Charlie and his friends away. They’re all going to jail and they’re all going to be after you.”

 

Erin buried her head into her hands, hot tears dampening her face and shuddering breaths being released. She was crying in a way she hadn’t in a long time. She felt so alone.

 

“Erin,” her dad’s voice coaxed. “We don’t have much time. I need you to do this. Don’t do it for me. Do it for your future. We can still salvage this.” His tone was gentle but Erin could sense the desperation in it.

 

“I’ll do it.” She said finally. “I’ll write the confession and I’ll go to rehab if it’ll keep me out of jail. But I don’t want to speak to you. You’ve gone too far. I can never trust you again.” She told him.

 

Voight opened his mouth to speak but then closed it. He couldn’t find any words to make her feel better.

 

An hour later, Erin was in the back of an unmarked police car, heading to a rehab center out of town. Her dad had tried to hug her but she hadn’t let him.

 

“I’ll come visit when you’re allowed visitors.” He had told her.

 

“Don’t.” Was the last word she had spoken to him.

 

* * *

 

Voight had ordered Erin’s favorite food at her favorite diner by their house. The color had come back to her face after her time away. The official line was that she was spending time with her sick aunt in Evanston but he figured some people might have figured where she really was. He had tried to see her on family day but she had refused to let him come so he had stayed away. They had exchanged letters and a few phone calls so that had filled him with some hope that everything wasn’t lost.

 

Erin ate her food seemingly content with making small talk with her dad and commenting on his new shirt. But it wasn’t the same. There was something between them that was larger than before. Larger than the deaths of Camille and Justin. It seemed unsurpassable now.

 

But she was here and she was talking to him so maybe it wasn’t that bad.

 

“I want to go to college,” she told him, breaking him out of his thoughts.

 

“That’s great, honey.” He said. “Northwestern?”

 

“I want to go to NYU.”

 

Voight shook his head. “No. You can’t go out of state.”

 

“Dad! You owe me.”

 

“I can’t have you across the country where-”

 

“You can’t follow me?” She bit back. Voight sighed. He should have known better than to feel like everything was starting to slot back into place.

 

“You just got out of rehab,” he told her. “You can’t be making huge life changes in a strange place. Chicago has great universities. You can go to one of those. Maybe live at home for a while.”

 

“I want to live on campus. I’m not going to live with you anymore.” She said. “I’m almost eighteen.”

 

“Okay, let’s compromise on this. You can live on campus but only if you go to a university in the city.” Voight offered. “In return, I’ll pay for whatever accommodate you want; even when you go off campus.”

 

“If I stay in Chicago, will you stop having me tailed?” She asked.

 

“Erin, I wouldn’t.” He said. She shook her head.

 

“You need to promise. No more of those stunts you pulled before. I hate that.”

 

“I need to trust you.”

 

“I need to trust you too. But how can I believe that you trust me if you won’t stop following me?”

 

“Okay, then I’ll prove it. You can live off campus but you have to promise that we at least talk every day. You’re the only person I have, Erin. I’m not going to lose you too.” He looked at her and lightly touched her arm. “I haven’t lost you, have I?”

 

She gave him a small smile. “No, dad, you haven’t lost me yet.”


	22. Chapter 22

Burgess yawned as she waited outside McDonald’s for Roman to return with their food. She wasn’t thrilled about being on the late shift; she had agreed for Roman’s sake so that he could enter his grandfather’s chilli in the cook-off at the precinct picnic on Sunday. It was the least she could do for him.

 

Burgess felt her phone buzz in her pocket and she pulled it out, hoping it was a message from Ruzek. She sighed in disappointment when it was just an email alert. She deleted it and stuffed her phone back in her pocket, trying to keep her hands warm in the crisp February air. Lately Ruzek had been running later shifts than her so she couldn’t really complain about working the late shift. Though she was desperate for a promotion up to the Intelligence Unit, she was grateful that she wasn’t up there this very moment. This case had taken a bad turn and it seemed to get worse with every passing day. She made a mental note to take Ruzek on a weekend break once this was resolved. He definitely needed it.

 

Through the large glass windows, Burgess spotted Roman finally leaving the counter with two brown bags in hand and her stomach growled in anticipation. She opened the car door and got into the passenger’s side to await Roman’s return. The deal had been if Roman went in to get the food, he could be the driver for the rest of the shift.

 

“Is it true?” Roman asked as he opened the driver’s side and sat down.

 

“Is what true?” Burgess took a handful of fries as she opened up the bag Roman handed to her. He gave her a look, clearing expecting her to know what he was talking about.

 

“Halstead!” Roman raised his eyebrows as if it was obvious. “Did Voight really punch him?”

 

“Oh.” Burgess busied herself with her burger. “Who told you that?”

 

She knew what had happened, of course. Ruzek had sent her a text about an hour ago, explaining everything in a six line message with a promise to explain everything at home. Her heart went out to Jay. She knew they were all having a tough time up in Intelligence; part of the reason she was glad she wasn’t there—yet. But she also knew that the Unit was a closed group. A ‘what happens in Intelligence; stays in Intelligence’ band of brothers. Though Ruzek told her most of the gossip, it wasn’t going to be her who betrayed that to anyone else. How Roman knew about _that_ incident was nothing to do with her or Intelligence.

 

“Evans text me while I was ordering. Is it true?”

 

“I… don’t know. I haven’t heard anything.” Burgess replied before taking a big bite of her burger.

 

“Evans said Halstead has a huge black eye and a broken nose. Apparently Halstead slept with Voight’s daughter so he punched him.” Roman replied. Burgess rolled her eyes.

 

“That doesn’t sound true.” She said. Technically it wasn’t. She knew nothing had happened between Jay and Erin, and though she knew that Voight had thrown a punch at Jay, she didn’t really know the extent of Jay’s injuries. All Ruzek had told her was that it was ‘insane’ but Jay was fine.

 

“Come on,” Roman coaxed, “Adam hasn’t told you anything? He probably text you when it happened.”

 

“Sean, I think you’re forgetting that they’re very busy up there right now. I haven’t spoken to him in a few hours so I have no idea what happened.” She replied coolly. She rummaged through the brown bag. “Did you forget to get ketchup?”

 

Roman sighed, clearly unimpressed with her answer. “I can’t believe you’re not going to tell me. Man, I wish I was dating someone in Intelligence.”

 

“I hear Atwater’s single,” Burgess grinned, dodging the burnt fry that Roman tossed at her. Their radio chirped to life.

 

“All squads in the downtown area. There’s a report of a potential 10-57 at 1515 North King Street.” The radio buzzed.

 

Roman looked around. “That’s just five minutes that way,” he told Burgess, “call it in.” She wiped the salt from her hands on her jacket and picked up the receiver to speak to dispatch.

 

“Copy, this is Squad 345, we’re close to the scene. ETA five minutes.”

 

“10-4.” Burgess quickly put a few more French fries in her mouth and washed it down with her drink.

 

* * *

 

The club was one Burgess had only been to a couple of times before. It played music she wasn’t really into and the line for drinks was always too long, but it was near to her apartment and her favorite late night pizza place.

 

They pulled up near the side entrance and approached the bouncer stationed outside the door.

 

“You here about the missing girl?” The bouncer asked. Roman nodded. “The friend is in the back office. I’ll call the duty manager.” They waited a few moments while the bouncer relayed something on the walkie-talkie. A few moments later, a guy in his mid-thirties came out of the side entrance and beckoned the two officers.

 

“Thanks for getting here so fast,” he told them over the pounding music. “I’m Ian, I’m the manager tonight. We’ve got the friend in the office. She’s a complete wreck.”

 

Burgess could feel a headache coming on and wished she had had time to finish her burger. It would be cold by the time they got back to the car.

 

Ian unlocked the door to the office and the two officers saw Erin’s friend, Alison, furiously texting on her phone.

 

“Finally!” She cried in exasperation. “My friend has disappeared and he won’t let me look at the camera footage.”

 

Alison didn’t seem to recognize Burgess or Roman, which was a good thing, but the bad thing meant that it was extremely likely that Erin was the friend in question. Before either could ask a question, Ian interrupted.

 

“I told her that we take security very seriously and if there was a reason to check the footage, I would do it. But her friend could have met someone and gone home with them.”

 

“That’s not what happened! She was here one second and gone the next.” Alison yelled. “Let’s watch the tapes.”

 

“We need to take down some information, Miss.” Roman told her, flipping open his notebook. “What’s your friend’s name?”

 

“Erin Lindsay. She’s 22 and wearing a blue dress. She’s my height, about 5’5”.”

 

“Five four,” Roman replied under his breath. Alison frowned for a second before continuing.

 

“She’s been having a tough few days and I think someone took her.” Alison replied. She pointed to the camera screens. “Ask him to let us look.”

 

“I’ll call it in,” Burgess told Roman.

 

Roman nodded before turning back to Alison. “When did you last see her?”

 

“About forty minutes ago. I was in the bathroom line and she wanted some air so she left. I went to the bathroom and I went outside to check but she wasn’t outside. I looked all over the club and she’s not here.”

 

“Have you been drinking?”

 

“Yeah, I had a few drinks.”

 

“Has Erin been drinking?”

 

“Uh, probably the same amount as me? We only had a couple of drinks and some shots. But I drank more than she did and I’m practically sober. Breathalyse me.” She offered.

 

“That won’t be necessary.” Roman assured her. He turned to Ian. “Sir, can you let us view your security footage?”

 

Ian let out a low whistle. “I’m sorry, Officer. I can’t do that. Not unless you have a warrant.”

 

“Are you serious?” Roman asked him. “A girl is missing.”

 

“You don’t know that.”

 

“It’s really important that you let us watch the tapes.”

 

Ian shook his head. “Sorry, I’m only the duty manager so I don’t have the authority. You either need a warrant or you talk to my boss.”

 

“Okay, where’s your boss?”

 

“He’s on vacation in Maui.” Ian’s face looked smug; Roman wanted to punch it off.

 

“Call him.” Roman demanded. Ian hesitated. “Get him on the phone _now_. I’ve got back-up coming and, trust me, you do not want to mess with them.” Roman threatened.

 

Ian sighed and got his cellphone, looking for his boss’ number. Burgess returned to the room.

 

“They’re on the way. Any luck with the footage?” She asked. Roman gestured his head towards Ian, who was typing up a text message.

 

“Does this look like an invitation to a birthday party? _Call_ your boss!” Roman yelled. Ian nodded in compliance, his hands shaking as he went to call his boss.

 

Alison angled her head to the side, narrowing her eyes as she looked at Burgess; a flash of recognition crossing her features. “Do I know you?” she asked. Burgess glanced over at Roman and then back at Alison.

 

“I, uh-” She didn’t get to finish her sentence because Alison was looking at Roman with the same scrutiny.

 

“You came to my party.” She said before her jaw fell open. “Wait, you’re _cops_?!”

 

“Alison, we need to focus on Erin. Look, we’ll explain everything later but you need to help us by telling us anything Erin might have told you and anyone she might have been spending time with.”

 

“She broke up with her boyfriend recently.” Alison said, still looking at the two of them in a mix of surprise and disgust. “She was going to spend some time at my place. She looked really upset.”

 

“Is that all she said?”

 

“She said he had lied to her, and then she said an ex of hers was back on the scene.”

 

“Did she tell you if she’d seen him recently?”

 

“Her boyfriend? I guess they broke up maybe this week or something?”

 

“No, the other guy.”

 

“Um, not really. She didn’t want to say much about it and I didn’t want to push her.” Alison shrugged. “Does Erin know you’re cops?”

 

“She does now,” Roman admitted with a look towards Burgess. “Did Erin talk to anyone at the club tonight?”

 

“Um, just the bartenders. We talked to a couple of girls in the bathroom line but that was it. Just them and…” Alison trailed off and looked away, her cheeks beginning to redden. Burgess narrowed her eyes at the girl.

 

“And?” She prompted.

 

“And we talked to a guy but Erin didn’t really like him and I didn’t see him after,” Alison shrugged again. “Look, I was pretty drunk earlier. I can’t really remember. Can I get a glass of water? It’s so hot in here.”

 

Burgess sighed and tried to ask again but Ian turned back, with one hand over the phone.

 

“My boss says you need a warrant.” Ian said again, though his tone was less confident than earlier.

 

“Let me talk to him.” Roman held out his hand for the phone, which Ian handed over. “Hi, this is Officer Sean Roman of Precinct 21. We have a vulnerable young girl missing from your establishment and it is imperative we review her movements during the time she was here.” Roman listened to the voice on the other end. Burgess watched as his frown deepened. “I understand, sir, but this could be a potential kidnapping and—yes, sir. I am trying to be as polite as possible. Yes, I know that you’re on vacation and I do understand how important it is to spend time with your family, but another family might be in danger if you don’t let us have access to the cameras. Sir, we could do this the easy way or the hard way. I would suggest we try the easy way first.”

 

Burgess’s radio chirped with confirmation that back-up had arrived. “Sean, I’m going to get the others in.” She told him.

 

“Sir, the hard way has just arrived.” Roman said smugly but then grunted in frustration. “He hung up on me.”

 

* * *

 

Burgess ran down the stairs as quickly as her legs would take her. As she pushed open the side door, the cool air pressed against her face and she felt her skin burning with the sudden change in temperature. She saw Olinsky, Ruzek and Atwater first, and then Jay emerged from the other side of the car.

 

“What’s the situation?” Olinsky asked as she beckoned them towards the door.

 

“Alison says she lost track of Erin about forty, maybe fifty minutes ago. Roman’s trying to get the security footage but the boss wants a warrant.” Burgess explained. Olinsky tutted as they made their way to the back office.

 

Roman looked relieved when Olinsky and the others showed up. Olinsky looked at Ian and then back at Roman, who shook his head.

 

“I just got off the phone with the manager. This is the duty manager and he won’t let us see the footage without a warrant.” Roman told Olinsky. They both looked over at Ian.

 

“We’re going to need to see that footage.” Olinsky demanded.

 

“Like I already told Office Roman, my boss told me I couldn’t.”

 

“Your boss could be implicating you in the kidnap of a young woman; do you really want that reputation on this place? You know your boss won’t be the one to get in trouble for it. Now, I could go and ask a judge to sign a warrant for us and that could take a couple of hours or so, and we could go through all of that red tape, but in the meantime, that young lady could be in grave danger and if anything happens to her, I _swear_ I will come down on this place with everything I’ve got. Do you understand me?”

 

Ian stared back at Olinsky, unsure of what to say. Faced with six police officers and a threatened job, he sighed and sat down in front of the computer.

 

Olinsky looked around the small office and the eight people trying to squeeze into the limited space. “Okay, this place is getting too crowded. Halstead, Roman, Atwater and Burgess, pair up and search the perimeters thoroughly. Ask bartenders, patrons, anyone you think has been around the last hour. I’ll radio if we find anything up here.” He instructed. “Ruzek, you stay up here with me and ask this young lady for more information.”

 

The other four left the back office. Burgess caught Roman sneaking a glance at Jay and his face. In the dark hallway of the club, it wasn’t very clear but Burgess could see the reddish ring around Jay’s eye forming. It must have been a hell of a punch.

 

She wondered how Jay was feeling. The last few days especially had been tough for him and she could tell his demeanor had changed considerably over the last two weeks.

 

“Hey, Atwater, why don’t you and Roman ask around the club? Halstead and I can search the perimeter outside.” Burgess suggested. The men looked at her quizzically. Burgess gave Roman a look and he looked over a Jay before sighing.

 

“Okay, sure.” He said. “Come on, Kev.”

 

Atwater tutted. “It’s _Detective_ Atwater to you, Officer.” He joked as he gave Jay a jovial pat on the arm before following Roman out towards the club.

 

Burgess opened the door to the outside and let the air in. “Come on, Halstead,” she coaxed. “Some fresh air will do us both good.”

 

* * *

 

Olinsky sighed in frustration as he viewed the footage. The cameras at the club had picked up Erin stepping out of the back exit. There was no bouncer stationed there. Ian explained that it was usually only smokers and that their security team patrolled throughout the night. Frustratingly, the camera caught the side of her head walking out but not walking back in. As it was a fixed camera, there was no way to control the view and it only watched over a fraction of the area.

 

“Okay, so we’re going to have to work backwards. We’ll get Mouse to see if he can look into some traffic cams around the area, but for now we need to figure out if she spoke to anyone in the club. Alison, can you remember what time you got here? Did you get an Uber or a cab?”

 

“We walked here and I think we got here around 10pm? Maybe a little earlier? I don’t think we left my apartment any earlier than 9:30. We had some drinks in my apartment before we got here so I’m not entirely sure.” Ian found the time stamp and cued up the security footage from the entrance of the club. They watched as the filmed versions of Alison and Erin lined up to get in at around 9:46—Erin pulling at the hem of the blue dress she’d loaned from Alison.

 

“Okay, so somewhere between then and midnight, Erin went missing. Let’s see if we see if anyone followed Erin out.” Ian flicked between the cameras until he found the one that lead to the back exit. He rewound it several times but there was a couple coming back in and just Erin exiting over a ten minute period.

 

“Alison, did you talk to any guys? Do you remember Erin talking to any guys?” Ruzek asked. Alison shook her head.

 

“Other than the bartenders, I didn’t really talk to anyone. I danced with a guy for a couple of songs, but Erin and I mostly talked to each other. I don’t know about when I wasn’t there.” Alison shook her head. “But I was pretty buzzed so I can’t remember anyone who stands out.”

 

Olinsky rubbed his temple. “Okay, well let’s start at the beginning. We’ll play all the footage out. Maybe you’ll see someone who you recognize.”

 

* * *

 

“How’s your wrist doing?” Burgess asked as she and Jay walked the perimeter of the club. Jay glanced down at his still bandaged arm and shrugged.

 

“Healing, I think.” He replied. Burgess’ heart sank as she heard the weariness in his voice.

 

“Adam told me you asked for a transfer.” She said. Jay made a tsk sound and shook his head.

 

“I should have figured he’d tell you.” He pointed to his eye. “Guess he told you about this too?”

 

“Jay…”

 

“It’s okay, Kim, really.” He assured. “You can ask me what you really want to know.”

 

Burgess chewed her lip. “Are you doing okay?”

 

“Yeah, it’ll heal soon.”

 

“I meant emotionally.” She clarified. “This has been a very stressful time for everyone, especially you. I want to make sure you’re fine. I know you’ve been through a lot.”

 

“I’ll be better when we find Erin,” he said, not making eye contact with Burgess.

 

“Adam’s worried about you. He won’t say it because he knows you’ll just say you’re okay, but he’s really worried.” Burgess said. “You shouldn’t let Voight get to you. He says mean things but he doesn’t mean them.”

 

“Yeah, he does.” Jay replied honestly. “He means it. You can see it in his eyes.”

 

Burgess didn’t know how to reply. They walked in silence around a corner, avoiding eye contact and focusing their gazes on the ground and surroundings in front of them.

 

“I just never wanted to have to lie to her.” Jay broke the silence. “Not as long as I did. Not after I met her and realized she just wanted a normal life.”

 

He scratched the back of his neck. Burgess felt like she knew what he was hinting towards. He liked Erin. Maybe more than liked. Everything that had happened between them and between Jay and Voight extinguished any possibility of Jay and Erin ever figuring out what they could have meant to each other.

 

Burgess suddenly felt ashamed about the relative ease of her relationship with Ruzek. Sure, people told her not to date a fellow officer, especially one working in the same precinct and in the unit she wanted to promote up to, but that was just white noise compared to what Jay and Erin would have to go through.

 

“Maybe she can find a way to forgive you.” Burgess said, trying to keep her tone as light and hopeful as she could. She stole a glance at Jay but couldn’t see if her words had any effect on him.

 

Burgess spotted something a few feet away from her, peeking from underneath a dumpster.

 

“What’s that?” She gestured towards the spot. She aimed her flashlight on the ground and spotted a black purse. Jay bent down to pick it up but Burgess pulled at his shoulder and showed him her gloved hand. Jay nodded and let her retrieve it.

 

“Is it Erin’s?” He asked as Burgess opened up the purse.

 

Burgess nodded as she pulled out the driver’s license and verified it under the flashlight. “No cellphone though.”

 

“Yeah, she ditched it on campus.” Jay explained. Burgess rooted through the purse and pulled something out. “What’s that?” Jay asked.

 

Burgess presented the small clear bag with pills sitting inside. Jay sighed deeply. “Okay, let’s see if there’s anything else down here and then show Olinsky.”

 

* * *

 

Olinsky slammed down the small bag of pills on the desk in front of Alison.

 

“Do you know anything about these?” He asked. The look on Alison’s face said it all. “Was Erin high?”

 

Alison shook her head. “No, she took them off me. I’m the one who bought them.” She admitted.

 

“You _brought_ them or you _bought_ them?” Olinsky’s tone was terse and his lips had set into a thin line.

 

“Bought. Here. Tonight.” She said.

 

“Convenient that you left that part out.” Olinsky grumbled. “Your friend is missing and you don’t tell us something as important as this?”

 

“I forgot!” Alison claimed.

 

“Who sold them to you?”

 

“I don’t know. Some guy I’ve seen push stuff on campus before. I’ve bought it from him before here.”

 

“Does Erin buy from him?”

 

“No, she was pretty pissed at me. She didn’t know him.”

 

“And you don’t know his name?”

 

“No, I just see him around. He’s pretty short and had a lip piercing.” Alison said. “I only buy it when I’m out partying.”

 

Olinsky turned to Ian, who blanched at the sudden attention. “Anything you want to tell us?”

 

“We don’t condone the selling, buying or taking of drugs in this establishment,” he replied quickly. He looked relieved when Olinsky turned his attention back to Alison.

 

“Okay, so you bought these tonight and they wound up in Erin’s bag. When did you buy them and how?”

 

Alison shook her head. “Maybe about an hour after we got here? We ordered drinks at the bar and I went to the bathroom. I ran into him on the way back. I think it was some corner near the coat check.”

 

“Ian, find the footage of the girls at the bar. We’ll see if we can track Alison’s footsteps. Hopefully we’ll be able to ID this guy and see if it’s someone we know.”

 

* * *

 

Alison’s finger pointed at the screen. “It was this guy.” She tapped the screen with a polished nail. “There’s the lip ring.”

 

Olinsky, Ruzek, Jay and Atwater watched as they saw the footage of Alison talking to him and Erin interrupting them.

 

“Have you seen him?” Olinsky asked Jay. Jay focused on the blurry face for a moment but then shook his head in disappointment.

 

“I don’t think so.”

 

“So maybe he doesn’t know Erin either.” Ruzek added hopefully. “Could just be another pusher.”

 

“He’s the only lead we have.” Olinsky said and turned to Ian. “Can we follow him through the club?”

 

“We can try.” Ian said. The camera footage wasn’t great thanks to the dark surroundings, the pulsing strobe lights and amount of people around, but they were able to pick out and zoom in a little. Olinsky figured that they could always send some footage to Mouse to play around with to see if he could get anything clearer.

 

Alison watched the screen version of her arguing with Erin and turned away. She wished she’d paid more attention or left when Erin had asked her to. It was too late now.

 

She spotted Jay studying the footage and squinted at him. He looked pretty young for a cop. Where had she seen _him_ before?

 

Her eyes widened and she pointed at him. “You’re Erin’s boyfriend!”

 

Everyone turned to look at her and Jay’s cheeks flushed. He had a weird expression on his face.

 

“You’re a cop too?” Alison said incredulously. “Is everyone that came to my birthday party a cop?”

 

“Miss, this is a very complicated case. We’ve been following Erin for some time now because we’ve believed she’s been in some danger. This could be a potential break but you need to focus.” Olinsky told her, trying to get the focus off of Jay. “Now, did you see this man again after you bought the pills?”

 

Alison turned her attention back to Olinsky and shook her head. “No, we danced some more, drank our drinks. We were in the bathroom line and she told me she was stepping outside. That’s the last time I saw her. I never saw him again. I thought he left.”

 

“Here, look, he’s leaving the club.” Ruzek pointed at the footage that showed him using the front exit. “That’s only fifteen minutes after he saw Erin.”

 

“Okay, let’s write down the time and get Mouse to see if he can follow him from any traffic cams in the area. Let’s hope he has a car we can track.”

 

* * *

 

Erin tried to open her eyes but they felt too heavy, like someone was holding them shut. She could hear footsteps of someone walking a short distance away from her and the faint sound of voices. She tried to listen to who it was before she realized it was the TV. She felt the heaviness in her eyes begin to subside a little. She tried again to open her eyes to get a look at her surroundings but there was only darkness. Either the lights were off or she was blindfolded.

 

She couldn’t move her arms but she knew she was lying down. She figured she was on a couch or bed or something. Erin tried to move her legs but she could only move her feet. Her arms and legs must be tied.

 

Erin heard a knock and the sound of a door opening. Was that her dad?

 

She tried again to move but wherever she was, it was impossible to.

 

A set of footsteps shuffled closer to her and the strong smell of cigarette smoke intruded her nostrils. She coughed and felt a hand on her face. Erin didn’t have time to register who it was before a bright light flooded her eyes. It took her a few moments for her senses to readjust to the sudden change. When she did, she saw Charlie’s face staring down at her.

 

“Hi Erin!” He said brightly, though his tone was laced with venom. “Nice to see you again.”

 

“Char-” Erin began but she was still having trouble fully adjusting to the light and her head felt foggy. She wanted to figure out where she was. Was she home? Was she at Charlie’s? A warehouse? Where were her exits? What time was it? Where was her dad?

 

She had too many questions but her brain couldn’t seem to separate them out to consider each properly. She didn’t want to be there with Charlie. She hated looking at his face.

 

“Shhh,” Charlie put a callused finger up to her lips. “We’ll have plenty of time to talk later.” He used his thumb and index finger to squeeze the sides of her mouth, forcing her lips into a pout. He kissed her briefly but roughly and Erin fought against the intrusion; her mouth gagging at the cigarette taste.

 

“Get off of me!” She yelled. She attempted to scream for help but he punched her in the mouth and called out for duct tape. She could feel hot tears on her cheeks before her mouth was covered with the tape and the blindfold was put back on, plunging her back into darkness.

 

She heard Charlie yell something and then the door shut.

 

_Dad_. She thought. _Please come find me._


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flashbacks are in italics

“Alright,” Mouse rubbed his neck; preparing to get focused. Jay looked up from his desk. He had been sent back to the precinct to help Mouse. Burgess and Roman had escorted Alison home while Atwater, Ruzek and Antonio remained at the club with Olinsky.

 

 _We’ve already got as much information as we can get from here. Go help Mouse with the cameras_. Olinsky had told Jay in an effort to placate him. Jay had been disappointed. The urgency of the case had increased but he had been iced out again. With Olinsky taking over the helm from Voight, Jay had hoped he would have been given a second chance to prove himself. Or to make amends. Or whatever it was he needed to do to repair some of the damage he’d caused. Olinsky hadn’t exactly ordered him to leave but Jay realized he was running out of chances. He already had burned his bridges with Voight; he didn’t need to ignite another with Olinsky.

 

“So the guy Alison saw was seen leaving in a silver Toyota Camry. I managed to get into the traffic cams but I could only get footage for three blocks before I lost the car.” Mouse told Jay.

 

“Did you get any numbers from the license plate?” Jay asked. Mouse pointed at his screen where he had zoomed into a very pixelated image. “Is that an R and an N?”

 

“That’s definitely an R. I think the other is either an N or an M.”

 

Jay pointed at another figure. “That’s a 4.” He grabbed a post-it on Mouse’s desk and wrote down the letters. “Can you zoom in any further?”

 

“Not without completely distorting the image. The camera on 8th Street can track license plate numbers but I’ve got to submit a form.” He gestured to his other screen. “The database updates every hour so if there’s any outstanding warrants on it, we’ll get a hit.”

 

“Forget the form,” Jay said. They didn’t have time to sit and wait for the system to do their job for them. He needed to sniff out the tracks himself. “Is that a 3 or an 8, maybe a 6? God, it’s so dark and grainy.” He squinted in an attempt to get a clearer look at the numbers.

 

“I’ve got another image here from the last set of lights.” Mouse clicked through until he found the image and zoomed in. “So it’s an 8. That one next to it is a 2.”

 

Jay read out the letters they had deciphered already. “R-N-8-blank, then 2-4-another blank.”

 

“Wait, that N is actually an M. Look at this photo.” Mouse pointed. Jay made the change while Mouse continued to try to untangle the missing digits. “Last one is another 4.”

 

“R-N-8-blank-2-4-4. Is that enough to get a hit off the database?” Jay asked. Mouse was already typing in the figures into their database. The computer pinged and Jay patted his friend on the back, unable to stop from smiling. Finally! A crack in the case.

 

“R-N-8-6-2-4-4.” Jay said, reading the vehicle description. “It’s a Toyota Camry. Silver. That’s the car.”

 

“Registered to a Wade Hollis.” Mouse finished. He started typing in Wade’s name into the system.

 

“I’ll call Al.” Jay said as he dialed Olinsky’s number. “You got an address yet?”

 

“I’ve got an address, I’ve also got priors.” Mouse said jubilantly. “Mostly possession and intent to supply. No jail time though.”

 

Jay heard Olinsky pick up the phone. “Olinsky, we’ve found the guy. I’m sending over a photo for Alison to ID. We’ve also got an address. I can go-”

 

“I’ll send Antonio and Atwater to the address.” Olinsky cut Jay off. “Send me all the information you have. Great work, guys.”

 

“I can go to Hollis’ with Ruzek.” Jay protested.

 

“There’s still some paperwork in the office. Pull Hollis’ phone records and cross-check them against Charlie’s brother’s. If Hollis is connected to Charlie, maybe we’ll get a hit.”

 

“Mouse can-”

 

“Mouse is already doing enough.” Jay could hear the exasperation behind Olinsky’s voice. “We can’t keep chasing, we need to get as much background work as we can. If we need you, we’ll call.” Olinsky promised.

 

Jay glanced over at Mouse. His friend had bags under his eyes and his hair and clothing was disheveled. Jay realized that he didn’t know if Mouse had even gone home yet. He guessed he probably hadn’t.

 

“Okay, sure.” Jay agreed, if only for the sake of his fellow Ranger. “Let me know what you find.”

 

* * *

 

Erin was awoken by the sound of a door slamming shut. Her arms were hurting from being tied behind her back and her ankles were pressed tightly together. She suddenly felt a hand lightly follow the curve of her thighs and she rolled away from the touch. Someone whipped off her blindfold and she blinked furiously to try and adjust to the lighting change and focus on her surroundings.

 

Charlie was crouched down in front of her, deeply annoyed. Erin saw his fingers reaching towards her face and she recoiled instinctively. He grabbed one of the ends of the duct tape and pulled it off her mouth. Erin felt her lips burning from the adhesive and her lungs filled with fresh air it desperately craved.

 

“Stay quiet!” he cautioned. Erin ignored him and opened her mouth to scream. Instead her mouth filled with saliva as the bitter taste of bile began to rise up in her throat. She tried to pull herself up but she was still stuck in a reclined position. She managed to roll herself over to the side and threw up the contents of her stomach over the edge of whatever it was she was lying on.

 

Why was she feeling so sick? She hadn’t had that many drinks tonight.

 

“Those shoes were new, bitch!” She heard Charlie spit out at her. She could smell the nicotine surrounding him and she crinkled her nose as he came closer. “You’re really making things difficult for me.”

 

“Fuck off.” She managed to say. Her voice felt rough and sore. She desperately needed some water.

 

Charlie made a comment about her cursing but Erin couldn’t hear him. She was still trying to abate the nausea. She had no idea how long she had been there for.

 

“You’re not pregnant, are you?” Charlie asked. She rolled her eyes at him. “I gotta say you’ve been getting pretty close to that guy I’ve seen you with. The one at the movie theatre, remember?”

 

* * *

 

 

_Erin popped a couple of popcorn kernels in her mouth as she waited for her change. She looked over at Jason, still waiting in line. It had been months since she’d last been on a date._

_Urgh, date. This wasn’t a date. He’d made that much clear._

_Erin felt a flush of embarrassment run across her features as she remembered how awkward it had been in the ice cream parlor. What a complete idiot!_

_She didn’t usually put herself out there, especially with guys. Since Charlie she probably only had dated three guys. As a freshman she’d gone out with a guy called Aaron for eight weeks over the first semester. It hadn’t lasted past Christmas break but it hadn’t ended badly either. It had just fizzled, and when she had seen him hooking up with another girl the second week of spring semester, she’d just rolled her eyes and moved on._

_Then there was Dante from her Statistics study group in sophomore year. That one had lasted six months before he gently let her down and told her he didn’t see a future for them. That one had hurt because he even had met her dad and that had been a huge step. Erin had been trying to start rebuilding the bridges between her and her dad, and that included maybe telling him about guys she was dating. How embarrassing was it to be broken up with less than a month after he met her dad?_

_Finally, there was Aiden, a bartender she’d met while out for her twenty-first birthday. They’d hooked up then and kept seeing each other for the next five months. She noticed the disapproval from her dad when she told him Aiden was a bartender and the suspicion that came along with his lifestyle. She had been the one to pull the plug on that relationship. She realized she needed to take her studies a little more seriously and he worked too many late nights. Well, that had been what she had told her dad when he asked about him. The truth was that she had found some coke in Aiden’s jacket pocket and knew she had worked too hard to slide backwards into that life.  So she’d broken up with Aiden, told her dad that she and Aiden just didn’t see each other enough, and secretly gone to a few NA meetings just to keep herself on the straight and narrow._

_Now there was Jason. She had felt in a better place for a while. She was working hard, had a small but good group of friends, and was on her way to graduating, maybe even doing a post-grad. Everything was slotting into place._

_Until she’d assumed he wanted to date her and then it had gone astray. But even if they were just going to be friends, he was a good one. Erin liked the way his smile was a little crooked and how he was just happy to let her talk. His green eyes certainly put a fire in her—_

_Erin was suddenly pulled towards the wall, spilling popcorn across the lobby floor and finding herself face-to-face with her ex._

_THE EX._

_“Look what the cat dragged in.”_

_“Char—?” she stared up at his brooding features; older and meaner than she remembered._

_“Nice to see you, Erin.” He spat. “You know, I’ve had a lot of free time in jail for the last five years. I’ve thought about you a lot. About what you were doing, and who you were with.” He jutted his chin towards Jason, who hadn’t seen them yet. “Who’s that guy? Another mark?”_

_“Leave me alone!” she hissed at him, finally finding her voice._

_“Oh no. I’ve thought about this moment for a long time. You owe me.”_

_“I don’t owe you anything.” Erin tried to look for Jason but Charlie had cornered her and she couldn’t move. She could feel his hand squeezing her arm tight._

_“I lost years of my life because of you.”_

_“Get away from me.”_

_“Where’s your dad?” He looked towards Jason, who hadn’t seen them yet. “Is he a cop?”_

_“I’m warning you–” She was cut off by his low chuckle._

_“What are you going to do to me?” He shook his head. “I think you should remember that I’m the one with the grudge.” He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. She jerked away from him and he grabbed her arm harder._

_“Hey!” Jason appeared and pulled Charlie away from Erin. “What do you think you’re doing?”_

_Charlie looked at Jason and then back at Erin. He let out a derisive snort and turned away. Erin’s heart was beating and her skin felt clammy, suddenly aware that she was sweating. She grabbed onto Jason’s arm and kept him in place as he started after Charlie._

_“Jason, don’t.” She told him firmly. She didn’t need him to talk to Charlie or to explain her past to her new friend. Not when she had done so much work to try and move on._

_“Are you okay?” Jason stopped looking towards the empty space Charlie had been in and focused intently on Erin. She was grateful that Jason was there in that moment, but she wanted nothing more than to go home and bury herself in her bed. She was aware that he was expecting an explanation but she was reluctant to offer him one. “I’m going to go after him.”_

_“Forget about it!” she pleaded. She needed to forget this moment ever happened. If her dad ever got wind of it…_

_Jason was asking her more questions but her head was swimming._

_When did Charlie get out? How did he find her? Had he been following her? She thought back to the notes that had started appearing the week before. She had tried not to pay attention to them, hoping it was just a prank by someone in the building, but now that she’d seen Charlie, she knew it wasn’t._

_How long had he been out? And what did he have planned for her?_

_She fed Jason some line about Charlie just being a stranger and urged him to get into the movie screen. In the darkness, Erin tried to slow her heart rate down. She had come to the movies to relax but Charlie had ruined all that._

_Erin felt Jason get up for the bathroom and she worried he would try and go after Charlie again. He was probably long gone – she doubted he’d wait outside the theater for her._

_Alone in the screen, Erin opened her phone and started composing a message to her dad. She needed to tell him. She needed to tell someone. Her hands were shaking and she couldn’t focus on the letters on her phone screen. Erin could feel hot tears start to form and fall down her cheeks. A blob of water dropped down on her phone screen, making it difficult for her to type. Frustrated that Charlie had gotten to her – both physically and emotionally – she exited out of the message and put her phone away._

_Her hands were still shaking and held them tightly together in an effort to get them to stop before Jason came back. She tried to beat back the tears and calm herself down._

_She could deal with this herself. Her dad would only panic and do something stupid like pulling her out of school or sending her to her classes with bodyguards… or killing Charlie. No, she couldn’t tell her dad about any of it. Not even the messages._

_She had this under control._

 

* * *

 

Jay jumped when he heard the phone ring. He threw down the file he was reading and answered it before it got to its second ring.

 

“Halstead,” he said, praying that it was news about Wade Hollis.

 

“It’s me,” Antonio said into the phone. Jay could hear the tiredness in his friend’s voice and his heart sank. It wasn’t good news. “We got to the house but the cars not there. Girlfriend says he came home for twenty minutes earlier in the night but left again. She has no idea where he is and he hasn’t come home yet.”

 

“Do you need Mouse to try and track the cams again?” Halstead offered. He glanced over at Mouse who was trying not to fall asleep at his desk.

 

“If he can but we’re not holding out too much hope. Atwater and I are going to wait until he comes back. Olinsky and Ruzek are going back to see Charlie’s brother in case he knows anything more. I don’t know, man…” Antonio sighed. “Look, uh, Olinsky said for you, Ruzek and Mouse to just get home and get some sleep. We’ll call if we need anything.”

 

“I can stay.” Jay told him.

 

“Jay…” Antonio started before letting out an exhausted sigh. “Fine, but send Mouse home.”

 

When Jay hung up, Mouse was trying his hardest to stay awake. He gave Jay a little wave and rubbed his eyes.

 

“You gotta go home, man,” Jay told his friend. “Come on, I’ll hold down the fort.”

 

“I’m good.” Mouse yawned. “I just need a power nap.”

 

“No, you need a proper bed, at least seven hours and a shower.” Jay replied with a chuckle. “Come on, I’ll get Platt to call you a cab.”

 

“You should go home too.” Mouse said as he got his jacket.

 

“Yeah, I’m going. I’m just going to finish up this file and then head home.” Jay lied as he called down to Platt. “Don’t bother waiting, you live across town.”

 

Mouse nodded and gave Jay a wave before heading down the stairs and leaving the office.

 

Jay surveyed the empty bullpen as he went into the break room and poured himself a fresh cup of coffee. Returning to his desk, he settled back in his chair and picked up the file he had been reading.

 

The numbers were blurring together so Jay closed and opened his eyes several times to beat away the fatigue.

 

Nothing in this file. He flipped a few pages before closing the file and tossing it to the discard pile. He caught sight of the clock on his desk.

 

12:45am.

 

Jay sighed. Maybe Antonio was right. He should go home and rest up. There was nothing he’d be able to do now. It would be better once he had gotten a few hours of sleep (even if it wasn’t that restful) and came back into the office with a fresh pair of eyes.

 

He thought back to Antonio and Atwater, probably freezing in their car while they waited for Wade Hollis to return.

 

Then he thought about Olinsky and the burden of the case resting on his shoulders. Olinsky had taken the case from Voight. Voight had spent the rest of the evening back at his place under Olinsky’s orders, but Jay doubted Voight was getting much sleep either.

 

If his squad was suffering, Jay would suffer along with them. He may not be there right now but he wasn’t going to let them down.

 

Jay flipped to the next file. Charlie’s brother’s financials. He scanned the information on the page and his eyes widened. He scooted over to Mouse’s desk and pulled up a database, typing in the information as quickly as he could.

 

He tapped his fingers on the desk impatiently as the database completed its search. Jay sighed as it came back with a result. He grabbed his phone and dialed Olinsky’s number.

 

“Hey, Al, I’ve got something for you. Charlie’s brother has another apartment that he sublets.”

 

* * *

 

Erin couldn’t focus on what Charlie was saying as she willed herself not to throw up again. She tried to push the sensation down.

 

“Hey!” Charlie commanded her attention. “I asked you a question. How long have you been with that guy?”

 

Erin looked back at him with contempt. “What, you didn’t do your research? You beat him up in an alley.”

 

“That’s not my fault, Erin. I’ve done nothing but think about us since I got put inside. I was mad about how you played me, but the problem was that I still cared about you… and seeing you now? I couldn’t imagine hurting you.”

 

“So untie me then,” she told him.

 

“Do you know how hard it is? To be so angry at someone you love—someone who betrayed you—but not being able to hurt them?” His voice was low. “So when I got out, I had to go and find you.”

 

“And threaten me?” She countered.

 

Charlie ignored her. “I’m proud of you for getting out there and getting your degree.”

 

“Shut up.”

 

“Seriously, Erin. Not many people can kick a habit and restart their lives. I guess not many people have fathers who can frame other people and protect their daughters, I guess.”

 

“I didn’t frame you.”

 

“You know, I really don’t want to hurt you but you’re making it really difficult.” Charlie said. He sighed and sat in a chair opposite Erin. “If you talk, I might let you go.”

 

“You’re not that good a liar,” Erin replied, “You’re not letting me go.”

 

“How do you figure that?”

 

“Because I know _you_.” Erin said with a resigned sigh. “And you don’t play fair.”

 

Charlie snorted. “Fair? You want to talk fair? Nothing has been fair for the last five years of my life.” He huffed. “You set me up.”

 

“You dealt coke to minors.” Erin reminded him.

 

“So did you.” Charlie said.

 

“Under coercion.”

 

“You didn’t do anything you didn’t want to do.” Charlie reminded her. His hand was back to running down her thigh and she tried shoving it off but he tightened his grip and pinched her skin.

 

“You’re a pig.” She told him.

 

“And you’re a bitch who owes me my life back. So you can start thinking about how you can repay me, otherwise I’m going to have to come up with a payment plan myself.” He said. His eyes locked with hers and he slapped his hand lightly across her thigh before leaving the room. Erin looked at the discarded duct tape and blindfold on the floor and then across the floor at where she’d thrown up. She started noticing the smell and she gagged a little.

 

Since Charlie hadn’t replaced her blindfold or turned off the light, she now had time to properly survey her surroundings alone. She was in a living room and lying across a couch. The TV in the corner was off but there was a digital clock display beneath it.

 

12:45am.

 

Erin guessed she had probably been missing about two hours at least. Maybe a little less. Either way, Alison would have noticed her absence, panicked and called the cops. Hopefully her dad and his unit were already on the case.

 

Erin knew she had dropped her purse but wasn’t sure if the goons who picked her up for Charlie bothered to go back and take it. She guessed not, so that would hopefully work in her favor.

 

She was still wearing Alison’s dress but her shoes had been taken off. She recalled furiously kicking when she was picked up and that guy from the club had taken a hit to his leg. That was before her legs had been tied at the ankles.

 

Erin had obviously either fallen asleep or lost consciousness because she didn’t remember getting here. Her head was still groggy but she wasn’t sure if that was due to the alcohol or if she had been drugged.

 

She tried adjusting herself into a seated position; her head still spinning and not helping the nauseous sensation. Shuffling her body up towards the couch armrest, Erin used the end as leverage to pull herself up as much as she could. Unfortunately the limited motion available in her arms and legs prevented her from doing anything more than just being propped up. Hopefully it would help with the nausea.

 

Erin closed her eyes; her head was beginning to hurt and her muscles were aching from being tied up. She tried to remember the advice her dad used to give her when lecturing her on keeping safe.

 

Figure out where you are.

 

Find your exits.

 

Cut yourself free.

 

Get a weapon.

 

Call for help.

 

She could do this. She didn’t go through her formative years without picking up a thing or two from her cop dad. She _needed_ to do this.

 

 _Okay,_ she told herself calmly, _start at the beginning. Where am I?_

Erin looked around the living room, noting how small and cramped it was. Was it an apartment? Maybe a basement? She tried to find a window to see if she could pick up any clues about her whereabouts and strategies for an exit plan.

 

Slowly, Erin tried sitting up further but the couch lurched and Erin fell backwards onto the couch.

 

Why was she so off-balance? Was she still drunk? She hadn’t had that many drinks at the club, but even so, it had been at least two hours since her last drink so she should have been mostly sober by now.

 

Erin could feel her mouth feeling dry and heavy from the drinks. She desperately needed water. Erin licked her lips and tasted something salty.

 

Weird.

 

Erin looked behind her and noticed a light coming from a window behind her. She squinted to get a better look at the bright glare. Headlights? A street lamp?

 

That was the moon.

 

Erin felt another lurch and she realized it wasn’t the alcohol at all that was making her feel off-balanced and sick.

 

She was on a boat.


End file.
